The worst fears of Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants have been realized following the quarterback’s injury suffered against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, September 21.
Dart’s knee injury is “more severe than originally anticipated” and he could potentially miss the rest of the season, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported on Tuesday, September 22.
The Giants quarterback, 23, suffered the injury during his team’s first possession on Monday Night Football, when he was hit by Rams linebacker Byron Young. The impact from Young, 28, sent Dart awkwardly into Rams linebacker Josaiah Stewart before he crashed to the turf.
Dart grabbed at his right knee and was evaluated in the medical tent on the sidelines before making his way to the locker room. The second-year player later made his way back out onto the sidelines in street clothes to watch the remainder of the game.
Sources told ESPN that Dart tried to re-enter the game in the first half, but the Giants would not allow it.
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston replaced Dart, ultimately finishing 11-for-27 passing for 111 yards and one interception. The Giants fell to the Rams, 28-6, dropping their record to 1-1 on the early season.
New York returns to action on Sunday, September 27, when they host the Tennessee Titans. Winston, 32, is expected to get the call.
After Monday night’s game, Giants head coach, John Harbaugh, was optimistic Dart had avoided a “devastating outcome” and did not believe the injury would be season-ending.
“We’ll know more tomorrow,” Harbaugh told reporters. “That’s in the neighborhood of it, I would say. We’ll get an MRI tomorrow and have a really good feel for it.”
Giants general manager, Joe Schoen, suggested Dart was “going to be OK” in a conversation with ESPN’s Laura Rutledge.
“We talked, and we have a long season,” Giants running back Cam Skattebo said after the game. “So, if he feels like he can go play, then let him go play. If it’s better for him to sit out and take a little rest to be healthy and be ready to go and be himself 100 percent, then I think that is the right decision.”
Skattebo, 24, added, “The doctors looked at him and said, ‘Hey, you should probably sit out there,’ and that was the decision they made. He obviously probably wasn’t OK with it. He came out [to the sideline], gave us some energy and did what he had to do.”
