Pelissero: Giants looking to trade for QB soon

The Giants rotated between punts and field goals in almost perfect succession throughout this contest. They leaned on their ground game with 33 carries compared to 22 pass attempts, so there wasn’t all that much for Winston to do. He took care of the ball with zero turnovers but had just one completion of more than 13 yards, a scramble drill toss to Cam Skattebo for 30. He will have to throw more often and more aggressively versus the Cardinals next week, but the Giants clearly don’t want him playing his normal, gunslinger brand of football. He will barely crack the QB2 ranks for Week 4.

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.

Winston played poorly in QB Jaxson Dart’s (knee) stead last week. If he can bounce back, the trade talk might calm down. If not, it will only get louder. The Giants face the Titans in Week 3, which should provide Winston with an opportunity to reasonably support one or two pass catchers in fantasy. Stay tuned.

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.

Winston came on in relief of the injured Dart after the team’s first possession but never really got the wheels turning in the defeat. He made numerous errant throws and poor decision, as evidenced by the poor completion rate, while averaging only 4.1 yards per pass attempt. Most egregious was a red zone interception with the team down 14-0 in the second quarter, which occurred on a badly under-thrown ball directed toward alpha receiver Malik Nabers. Safety Javon Holland did his part to almost single-handedly keep the team in the game, picking off Matthew Stafford and then both forcing and recovering a fumble on consecutive possessions following Winston’s interception, acts that would ultimately prove futile considering the offense’s inability to move the football. Winston could be headed for a start in Week 3, pending the status of Dart, and gets a much more forgiving matchup against the Titans. Fantasy managers in a pinch could do worse than starting the veteran W-eater.