Dart, Giants offense look ‘disjointed’ early

Everyone but Harbaugh knew Dart wasn’t returning for the playoffs the moment his meniscus repair procedure was announced. Harbaugh, meanwhile, held out hope that his starting quarterback could return in time for a deep playoff run. Even he isn’t keeping that facade up anymore, though he noted that Dart’s surgery “went well.” Coming off an ugly win, Jameis Winston will make his second start of the year in Week 4. J.J. McCarthy will get a crack at the job when the Giants inevitably start losing.

According to Pelissero, Giants GM Joe Schoen is “working the phones” and a trade could be done as soon as Monday. The Giants gave Dart’s backup Jameis Winston a two-year contract extension just before the start of the regular season. While the Giants are looking to add to their quarterback depth, it seems unlikely that whoever they acquire at this point would be able to unseat Winston as the starter immediately. New York takes on Tennessee in Week 3 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

According to Raanan, the belief is that Dart will have surgery to repair his meniscus and MCL. The second-year quarterback is looking at a 4-6 month recovery period after his surgery, which will sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. Head coach John Harbaugh said earlier in the week that Dart could return in the postseason if Jameis Winston pulls off the unthinkable and leads the G-Men to their first playoff berth since 2022.

Garafolo notes that a meniscus repair typically requires a 4-6 month recovery timeline. If Dart heals at the fastest possible speed, he could return in late January. This seems somewhat unlikely, given the fact that he will also have his MCL surgically fixed and must rehab the injured PCL, but apparently Harbaugh is feeling optimistic. In the meantime, QB Jameis Winston has been named the starter.

The extent of Dart’s knee injury was not initially understood, but further testing showed a serious injury to his MCL and PCL. He’ll be sidelined for the rest of the season, effectively ending the Giants’ season. Jameis Winston will likely take over as the team’s starter. It’s a letdown for Dart, who started the year hot against the Cowboys. In relief of Dart in Week 2, Winston was 25 percent below his expected completion rate, the worst mark in the league. Look for the Giants to be a run-heavy, hyper-conservative offense going forward with targets concentrated between Isaiah Likely and Malik Nabers. Winston might be usable in superflex formats for now.

Vacchiano explores myriad trade options that the Giants could explore in a lengthy article, but ultimately determines that rolling with Winston, while QB Jaxson Dart (knee) is sidelined, is the team’s best course of action. According to Vacchiano, the Giants viewed Winston “as a solid veteran who was smart and talented enough to get them through a short stretch if Dart went down” when they signed him to a two-year, $13 million contract extension two weeks ago. “Their faith gets shakier when it’s a long-term proposition they were hoping to avoid,” but alas, this appears to be the situation the team is currently facing. If Winston can return to something resembling his 2019 Buccaneers form, when he posted a 5,109/33/30 passing stat line en route to an overall QB3 finish, he could facilitate usable outings for Giants pass catchers. Betting on that exact outcome is unwise, but Winston could be a QB1 streamer in the right situation.

Harbaugh was scooped to his press conference by multiple reporters saying that Dart was likely to miss the remainder of the season, so he probably didn’t have time to change the talking points. It feels like we’re just waiting on this to be official at this point; the Giants will likely name Jameis Winston their starter on Wednesday.

Obviously we’re looking for a follow up from the team, but this is absolutely brutal news for the Giants. Jameis Winston looked abysmal in his fill-in action against the Rams in Week 2 and, if he played like that going forward, would lower expectations for all Giants skill position players. More importantly for Dart, he’ll miss most of his second season and enter the third year of his rookie contract trying to rehab and prove to the Giants that he’s going to be their quarterback of the future. It’s a rough, rough break for the 23-year-old quarterback.

Dart is set to undergo more testing on Tuesday after injuring his knee early in Monday night’s loss to the Rams. Garafolo said players usually take 4-6 weeks to recover from an MCL sprain, though the extent of Dart’s injury remains to be seen. Dart, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, tried to talk Giants coaches into letting him re-enter Monday night’s game in the second half. Jameis Winston, who was miserably inaccurate and mistake-prone against the Rams, would figure to get at least a couple starts while Dart recovers. Winston should be picked up in superflex leagues ahead of the team’s Week 3 game against the Titans.

Dart was the victim of a dreaded high-low tackle early in the first quarter and immediately grabbed for his left knee. He was able to gingerly walk to the sideline under his own power, but was in clear and visible pain. Jameis Winston entered the game after a three-and-out from the Rams before Dart walked, again under his own power, to the locker room for additional testing. The team deemed him questionable to return, although it would be truly shocking to see Dart return to the game based on the replay of the play in question. Dart completed 3-of-5 passes for 20 yards prior to departing.