Tag: Dart

Eat Rutherford, NJ -- May 9, 2025 -- Jaxson Dart with Abdul Carter after Carter spoke to the media following practice at Giants Rookie Minicamp.

Reports: Giants QB Jaxson Dart, teammates clear air over rally in closed-door meeting

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart addressed teammates to clear the air over his appearance at a Republican-backed event in New York that featured President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports.

Dart introduced Trump last week at festivities supporting the campaign of Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents New York’s Hudson Valley in Congress and is running for a third term.

Dart’s presence and on-the-mic role at the rally sparked a reaction from Giants pass rusher Abdul Carter, the third overall draft pick in 2025 — the same year in which the Giants selected Dart with the 25th pick.

“Thought this (s—) was AI,” Carter wrote in a since-deleted post on X that showed the video featuring Dart’s introduction of the president. “What we doing, man?”

ESPN reported veteran quarterback Jameis Winston and edge rusher Brian Burns addressed the team in the same meeting with a goal of shifting the focus to keeping concerns and differences of opinion in house.

Earlier this week, Carter attempted to downplay perception the draft-class peers were at odds over a political divide with another post to social media.

“Me & JD6 are good!” he wrote on X about Dart but since deleted the post. “We spoke earlier as Men. Yall can keep yall narratives.”

The Giants were 4-13 in the first season with Dart and Carter. They hired a new head coach — John Harbaugh — and he was put in an awkward position during the draft.

Harbaugh was called to defend the selections of linebacker Arvell Reese (No. 5 pick) and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (No. 10) instead of Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, the player wide receiver Malik Nabers openly lobbied for. Downs wound up being selected by the rival Dallas Cowboys in the No. 11 slot.

Nabers backtracked on the criticism after he said Harbaugh explained how the Giants’ defense would unleash Reese in a creative, matchup-based role.

Harbaugh and his younger brother, Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, were Trump’s guests at the White House in 2025. At the time, John Harbaugh coached the Baltimore Ravens.

John Harbaugh panned media members in Baltimore pressing about his decision to visit the White House at the time, and Harbaugh flipped the question, asking why the query didn’t focus on “a chance to go visit the president.”

“It was amazing. It was awesome. And I promise you I root for our president,” Harbaugh said in July 2025. “I want our president to be successful just like I want my quarterback to be successful and I want my team to be successful, and it was an amazing experience.”

–Field Level Media

Losing for winning, Giants (4-13) won’t pick first, enter uncertain offseason

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Giants nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who missed some practice this week due to an illness, felt a certain way after New York knocked off the Dallas Cowboys to end the regular season with back-to-back wins.

The victory handed the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Las Vegas Raiders.

“Sick,” Lawrence said when asked how he felt Sunday night. “But I’m happy with how we fought these last two games. It would’ve been easy to roll over, but we finished strong.”

Strong is relative for the Giants, who lost nine in a row before beating the Raiders and Cowboys to finish 4-13, one win better than 2024. Beating the Cowboys is a new trick: Dallas had nine consecutive wins in the series entering Sunday.

“That’s longer than I thought,” Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. said of the losing streak to Dallas. “But to get a win today was obviously big to end a season, but (also) going into next season. And obviously, it feels a little bit better when you beat the Cowboys.”

Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka said co-owner John Mara was presented with the game ball in the postgame locker room. Kafka enters the offseason not knowing what’s next in New York and said the mission had nothing to do with draft position.

“All you are thinking about is the players and coaches and enjoying this win,” he said.

Kafka is expected to be interviewed for the permanent coaching position with the Giants in a crowded field that reportedly will include former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, former Giants linebacker and Raiders coach Antonio Pierce and Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.

General manager Joe Schoen said last month he anticipates meeting with ownership this week to determine the structure and scope of the coaching search. Schoen said he believes he can turn the franchise around, but his first hire with the Giants was Brian Daboll, who was fired after going 20-40-1.

–Field Level Media

Giants QB Jaxson Dart: Being treated like a RB ‘nothing new’

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New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart shrugged off comments from the Washington Commanders ahead of the teams’ matchup last week, saying they viewed the rookie as a running back.

As seen on the televised docuseries “Hard Knocks,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said of Dart, “The (Giants) QB, he’s a running back first.”

Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said: “The quarterback is a very competitive dual-threat guy. He will try to run the ball like a running back. He will try to run you over. He will try to stiff-arm. He doesn’t really run out of bounds. He doesn’t slide a whole bunch. We can get the ball off him. The ball is life. It is air, and we need it.”

The game plan was successful as Dart was hit a total of 15 times on Sunday in Washington’s 29-21 win.

Asked Wednesday whether he was bothered by the Commanders’ assessment of him, Dart replied, “No, absolutely not. I mean, (Georgia coach) Kirby Smart said the exact same thing every time that he played against me. So did (former Alabama head coach) Nick Saban, so did every coach that I played in college. So this is nothing new, just try to go out there and play smart and be available for your team.”

The former Ole Miss star was asked to elaborate on comments from Smart and Saban.

Dart said, “I mean, I can’t put together exactly what they said, but there were definitely a lot of interviews that we can all go back and look at. This isn’t a new thing that’s been brought up in my career.”

Dart lost a fumble and threw an interception in the game against the Commanders, giving him four picks and four fumbles (two lost) in 11 games and nine starts.

The 22-year-old quarterback has a 2-7 record as a starter. He has completed 62.5% of his passes for 1,801 yards and 13 touchdowns. Dart also has rushed for 400 yards and seven TDs on 70 carries.

–Field Level Media

Giants QB Jaxson Dart remains in concussion protocol

Posted on | by Field Level Media

New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart remains in concussion protocol to start the week, interim coach Mike Kafka said on Monday.

Kafka was asked whether Dart would be available to start practicing with the Giants (2-9) on Wednesday to prepare for next Sunday’s road game with the Detroit Lions (6-4).

“Jaxson’s still in the protocol so I’m just going to see that through, talk with the medical (staff) and when they give us the thumbs up then we’ll take the next action,” Kafka said.

Jameis Winston made his first start in Kafka’s coaching debut on Sunday, passing for 201 yards with an interception as well as a lost fumble on the final play of a 27-20 home loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Dart, 22, was injured in the Week 10 loss at Chicago. The first-round draft pick has completed 62.7% of his passes for 1,417 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games (seven starts).

Dart has also rushed for 317 yards and seven touchdowns, but it’s the running game where the Giants want him to be less reckless in order to reduce the injury risks.

“He’s an aggressive player and that’s what we love about him,” Kafka said. “But obviously, you want to show him some examples that he can learn from. I think he’s going through that now and I think he’ll continue to grow from those things. But at the end of the day, he is a competitor and that’s why we love this guy. I think he’ll continue to learn and grow but you don’t want to put a player like that in a box. Obviously, you want to show him the examples that he can improve on and I think he’ll take that to the bank.”

–Field Level Media

Reports: Giants to start Jameis Winston if Jaxson Dart can’t go

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The New York Giants will turn to veteran quarterback Jameis Winston on Sunday if rookie Jaxson Dart is not cleared from concussion protocol to face the visiting Green Bay Packers, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.

Elevating Winston to the QB2 role over Russell Wilson would be the first major move made by interim head coach Mike Kafka, who replaced the fired Brian Daboll on Monday.

Dart was injured in Sunday’s 24-20 loss at Chicago and is “unlikely” to clear protocol in time to lead the Giants (2-8) against the Packers (5-3-1), ESPN reported.

Winston, 31, inked a two-year, $8 million deal with New York in the offseason. He has yet to see action this season.

Drafted No. 1 overall in 2015 by Tampa Bay, Winston made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and topped the NFL with 5,109 passing yards for the Buccaneers in 2019.

He is 36-51 as a starter, completing 61.2% of his passes for 24,225 yards, 154 touchdowns and 111 interceptions in 105 games with the Bucs (2015-19), New Orleans Saints (2020-23) and Cleveland Browns (2024).

Winston’s last appearance came in Cleveland’s 21-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15 of last season.

Wilson, 36, replaced Dart in the second half against the Bears and completed 3 of 7 passes for 45 yards while being sacked twice.

–Field Level Media

Giants QB Jaxson Dart checked for concussion, ruled out vs. Bears

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Giants quarterback Russell Wilson entered the game and Jaxson Dart walked to the locker room in the fourth quarter to be checked for a concussion.

Wilson completed both of his pass attempts for 45 yards and led a run-heavy scoring drive capped by Younghoe Koo’s 19-yard field goal with 10:19 left to give the Giants a 20-10. New York stopped the Bears on a fourth-and-3 in their own territory to get the ball right back.

After the scoring drive, Dart officially was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Dart’s head hit the ground hard after a fumble. He moved slowly to the sideline and walked behind the team bench area before heading into the locker room with team medical personnel.

Dart had two rushing touchdowns before leaving the game. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 242 yards.

Wilson’s second drive in the fourth quarter ended with a punt.

–Field Level Media

Snow problem: Jaxson Dart, Giants cool with Chicago forecast

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Sun splashed the Chicago Bears’ practice field and temperatures were above 60 on Thursday, but the arrival of the New York Giants in 48 hours might look much different.

Wind gusts up to 33 miles per hour and the threat of the first lake effect snowstorm at Soldier Field on the banks of Lake Michigan are waiting for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart and the Giants if current forecast models are accurate.

“It’s definitely not my first weather game. I’m from Utah,” said Dart, who attended USC but transferred before Bears quarterback Caleb Williams arrived as a transfer from Oklahoma. “If you know anything about Utah, I played in four seasons. I played in snow games in high school. That’s not something that is new to me. I played out at high school where the wind blew, it was right outside of a canyon. I dealt with that every single day as well.”

Accuweather downgraded the chance of snow to a chance for morning flurries pregame in Chicago. Other local forecasts are holding off on dismissing accumulating snow. A sharp temperature decline — with a ripe real-feel temperature of 28 degrees at kickoff — and the wind direction pulling air from Canada and Minnesota with sustained 18 mph winds out of the northwest could create another shift in the outlook.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll took note of the potential for iffy weather earlier in the week only to check back in and find something completely different.

“You look at the weather, that changes. It’s changed a number of times,” Daboll said. “So, if you think it’s going to be wet, raining, snowing, it’s changed a number of times. Last time I looked at it, it looked 36 degrees and sunny.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws under pressure from Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson (35) in the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Giants plot QB change? Brian Daboll ‘evaluating everything’

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Russell Wilson might be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants when the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers visit this week, but head coach Brian Daboll was still in the evaluation stage on Monday less than 24 hours after a 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Daboll opened the door to questions about the QB1 role after a Week 1 loss at Washington only to stick with Wilson. He threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns at Dallas in a 40-37 overtime loss in Week 2.

But Wilson had a rough outing in primetime Sunday night and his current passer rating of 78.5 is 23rd in the league. He has three touchdowns and three interceptions in three games.

“We’re going through the tape right now. We’re evaluating everything,” Daboll said Monday, adding the day-after game routine is standard practice for coaches who will next meet with players.

The Giants utilized rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart as a change-of-pace option on one possession in the second half. He ran the ball twice and totaled zero net yards with one 3-yard run. Fans at MetLife Stadium booed when Dart went back to the bench mid-drive with Wilson returning to the field.

Asked if a quarterback change was on the table, Daboll said, “I’d say we’re evaluating everything.”

The Giants went 1 of 10 on third down against Kansas City and came away with one touchdown in three possessions in the red zone. They have two red-zone TDs on 10 possessions inside the opponents’ 20 this season.

The Giants are 27th in the NFL in scoring (17.3 points per game) and 31st in the red zone as well as third-down conversion percentage (27.5).

“In order to improve the passing game, I’d say that was the No. 1 thing we need to improve from (Sunday) as a collective, everybody has to be doing the right thing,” Daboll said. “As a collective. It’s not on one guy.

“We’re working through all of personnel decisions and we’ll do that over the next few days.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 7, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) makes a pass during the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Giants still rolling with QB Russell Wilson in Week 2

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The New York Giants aren’t ready to park the Russ bus, with head coach Brian Daboll confirming Monday that veteran Russell Wilson will remain the starting quarterback in Week 2.

Daboll had been noncommittal Sunday after Wilson struggled in his Giants debut, completing 17 of 37 passes for 168 yards in a season-opening 21-6 loss at NFC East rival Washington. He led the team with 44 rushing yards on eight carries.

“After a game — it’s an emotional game, tough game,” Daboll said Monday. “Didn’t play particularly well, I would say collectively, but in terms of making any of those decisions — really at any position or schematic changes — I’d like to do it with a clear head and watch the tape. Again, like I said (Sunday), that game doesn’t fall on Russell Wilson. We got to do a better job collectively; coaching, playing. But Russ will be the starter.”

The Giants face another division foe with a trip to face the Dallas Cowboys (also 0-1) in Week 2.

Wilson recovered his own fumble and had an interception negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Sunday. The Giants converted only four times on 16 third-down attempts, settled for two field goals and punted six times on nine possessions.

Wilson, 36, is a 10-time Pro Bowl selection who won a Super Bowl with Seattle. He signed an incentive-laden one-year deal for $10.5 million with the Giants in March.

Rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart is New York’s No. 2 quarterback. In an offense designed to take downfield shots, Dart was decisive in the preseason and averaged 7.9 yards per pass attempt with three touchdown passes. Wilson’s average Sunday was 4.5 yards.

In addition to sticking with Wilson, Daboll told reporters Monday he doesn’t envision any changes on the offensive line this week. Left tackle Andrew Thomas was inactive in Week 1 as he recovers from a 2024 season-ending foot injury, with James Hudson getting the start on Wilson’s blind side.

–Field Level Media

Sep 7, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) runs away from Washington Commanders defensive end Dorance Armstrong (92) during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Russell Wilson flat in opener; Giants noncommittal for Week 2

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Russell Wilson might not make a second start for the New York Giants.

Wilson, who started his 200th career game on Sunday at Washington, completed 17 of 37 passes (45.9 percent) for 168 yards in a 21-6 loss to the Commanders and led the team in rushing with 44 yards.

Given multiple opportunities to declare Wilson would get his 201st career start next week in Dallas, Giants head coach Brian Daboll never found the words.

“We’re gonna get home, look at our game. Collectively we’ve all got to do better,” Daboll said, dancing around multiple questions about his commitment to Wilson as the Giants’ starter. “We’re just right here, after the game, I’ve got confidence in Russell. We’ve got to better around overall, players, coaches, around everybody. We’ll get focused and ready to go on Dallas. … We’re talking about after every game. I’ve got confidence in Russ. So we’re gonna go back, we’ll evaluate the tape.”

Rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart was the No. 2 quarterback on Sunday. In an offense designed to find downfield opportunities, Dart was decisive in the preseason and averaged 7.9 yards per pass attempt with three touchdown passes. Wilson’s average Sunday was 4.5 yards.

Generating six points and 231 total yards has a way of turning coaches on the hot seat to introspection. Sunday’s loss might be viewed as an improvement over the Giants’ 40-0 defeat at the hands of the Cowboys in Week 1 of the 2023 season and the 28-6 loss to the Vikings in last year’s opener.

No matter how the defeat is scored in the public eye, losses are piling up for the Giants. It was Daboll’s 26th since the 2023 season began.

With 2:36 left in the game, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was captured seated on the bench by FOX television cameras with his face entirely covered by a towel. Daboll spent part of one break appearing to tamp Nabers’ emotions on the field near the sideline.

“I thought we competed our butts off today,” Wilson said. “That was a physical game. We left it all on the field, we gave it our all physically.”

Wilson recovered his own fumble, an interception was negated by a roughing-the-passer call on linebacker Bobby Wagner, and the Giants converted only four times on 16 third-down attempts.

New York played without left tackle Andrew Thomas, who is not fully recovered from a 2024 season-ending foot injury. TruMedia advanced metrics from the Week 1 game put the Commanders’ pressure rate at 42.6 percent despite rushing more than four on only 26 percent of defensive snaps.

“This game isn’t on Russell Wilson. It’s not on Russell Wilson. I want to make that clear,” Daboll said. “I have confidence in Russ, we’ve got to do a better job all the way around.”

The Giants never reached the end zone and mustered only two field goals. They punted six times on nine possessions.

–Field Level Media