Jaxson Dart's 2026 season is in jeopardy.
The Giants' starting quarterback could miss the rest of the season after testing on Tuesday showed his knee injury is worse than initially feared, according to NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo and ESPN's Adam Schefter. Schefter reported Dart could undergo season-ending surgery.
"Right now evaluations are ongoing. We haven't gotten any final decisions yet," Giants head coach John Harbaugh said on Tuesday, minutes after the report broke. "We've learned a lot more. I wouldn't really want to share too much until decisions get made and that takes more than one person. It takes everybody involved.
"When we know what direction we're going to have to go … we'll announce that, but we don't have that yet. So, I don't want to get out over our skis on that. Can't really respond to every report that people make. Got to work on our own timeline here."
Harbaugh was asked specifically about the report Dart could miss the rest of the season.
"I don't think I can really comment on any of that right now until we know for sure what's going to transpire," he said.
Dart suffered the injury at the end of the Giants' first possession in their 28-6 loss to the Rams on Monday night. Jameis Winston replaced him, completing 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and an interception.
Dart walked off the field under his own power and was taken into the locker room for further evaluation Monday night, which initially produced results encouraging enough for Dart to attempt to re-enter the game, ESPN's Laura Rutledge reported during the broadcast.
Harbaugh echoed the optimistic sentiment afterward, telling reporters on Monday that it appeared Dart avoided "the devastating outcome" and landed "in the neighborhood" of an MCL sprain, adding New York would know more after a Tuesday MRI.
Tuesday wasn't as positive, and now the Giants might have to confront a reality they'd hoped to avoid.
Dart's knee injury marks the second instance he's been sidelined due to health challenges. He missed two games in 2025 due to a concussion and has drawn attention for his fearless style of play, which has left him susceptible to more hits than the average quarterback.
The hit that caused the injury on Monday night occurred with Dart under duress in the pocket and had nothing to do with his scrambling aggression. The outcome is too familiar for the Giants, who must shift toward preparing Winston as their starter for the foreseeable future.
Winston started two games in place of Dart in 2025, going 0-2 in one-score losses to Green Bay and Detroit. New York felt confident enough in Winston's abilities as a veteran backup to give the 2015 No. 1 overall pick a two-year, $13 million extension earlier this month, locking down a trusted second option behind Dart.
He'll have a chance to prove the Giants weren't misguided when New York hosts the Tennessee Titans (0-2) on Sunday.
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Source: NFL.com — Read the original article
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