New York Giants QB Daniel Jones (hamstring) takes first snap in Thursday’s individual drills

Daniel Jones is making progress towards a return. The New York Giants quarterback is currently dealing with a hamstring injury.

Optimism surrounding Daniel Jones‘ injury-related situation grew on Thursday.

During practice at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, Jones took the first snaps with the New York Giants offense in individual drills. According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, it was the most the media has seen Jones do since he suffered a hamstring strain against the Bengals back in Week 12.

Daniel Jones (hamstring) and Blake Martinez (back) both practiced. Easily the most we’ve seen Jones do since his injury. Took the first snap with the offense in individual drills, which usually means something. #giants pic.twitter.com/EvZUZWoZhH

— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 10, 2020

That doesn’t mean it’s confirmed Jones suits up and plays against the Arizona Cardinals, but progress is at least being made.

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett believed Jones was moving well during the Giants’ Wednesday walkthrough. Head coach Joe Judge, however, didn’t want to jump the gun on whether he would be good to go come Sunday afternoon.

Giants QB Daniel Jones “looked good” moving around in the Giants’ walkthrough yesterday, according to OC Jason Garrett, but Joe Judge is still non-committal about his status for Sunday.

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) December 10, 2020

All in all, the second-year quarterback was limited Wednesday. Of course, the injury report was just a projection considering the Giants only underwent a walkthrough in preparation for their upcoming matchup.

Fielding Jones against the Cardinals would be huge for the Giants. Big Blue is in a tight division race, sitting atop the NFC East at 5-7. Washington is additionally 5-7 after a big win over the once-undefeated Steelers, but the Giants hold the tiebreaker due to a pair of head-to-head victories over the Football Team.

Jones’ injury caused him to miss the Week 13 win over the Seattle Seahawks, a game in which veteran backup Colt McCoy started for the Giants. In the midst of the victory, McCoy threw for 105 yards, one touchdown, and one pick on 13-of-22 passing. The Giants offense mostly relied on running back Wayne Gallman, who rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 16 carries.

In other injury-related news, Blake Martinez also practiced on Thursday after he was projected as a non-participant on Wednesday. The inside linebacker is dealing with a back injury suffered against the Seahawks — it would be a major blow to the Giants defense if he wasn’t to suit up on Sunday.

Martinez leads the team (and is third in the NFL) with 111 combined tackles.