Giants Clips
Word on Wednesday was that Giants linebacker Brian Burns is likely to miss time with a sprained ankle and Thursday’s practice did nothing to suggest otherwise.
Burns missed practice for the second straight day and it looks like a long shot that he’ll be making it back to full enough health to play against the Titans on Sunday. The Giants will also be without quarterback Jaxson Dart for that game and left tackle Andrew Thomas may be missing as well.
Thomas was limited by a groin injury on Wednesday, but he was out of practice altogether on Thursday. The Giants will provide another update and issue injury designations on Friday.
Cornerback Deonte Banks (calf), defensive lineman Shelby Harris (toe), and safety Tyler Nubin (calf) were limited participants. Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (thigh), cornerback Nic Jones (shoulder), right guard Francis Mauigoa (neck), linebacker Micah McFadden (neck), wide receiver Malik Nabers (shoulder), and cornerback Greg Newsome (rib) were all full participants.
Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers returned to Monday night’s loss to the Rams after hurting his shoulder and he gave an update on how he’s feeling at a Thursday press conference.
Nabers, who was listed as a limited practice participant on Wednesday’s injury report, said that he had X-rays done on his right shoulder and said “I’ll be fine” when asked about his outlook for this week.
“Good result. I’m smiling, I’m out there, playing, catching the ball, so good results,” Nabers said, via SNY.
Nabers has dealt with previous shoulder issues, but declined to say if Sunday’s injury was related to anything he dealt with in the past.
The Giants will issue their injury designations for Sunday’s game against the Titans on Friday, but it doesn’t sound like Nabers has any question about his availability.
Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy says there’s still a place for wide receiver Odell Beckham in the offense.
Through two games this season, Beckham has played 14 snaps and has yet to have a pass thrown to him. But when Nagy was asked about Beckham today, he insisted that there’s a role for him.
“Odell is — he does a lot of good things well,” Nagy said. “We’re trying to slowly package him into some things offensively. It’s not that he’s just a backup. There’s times when, whatever it is personnel wise, we have it in the game plan and we just didn’t get to it. You’ve got to be ready, one injury away from being in all the time. He knows that, he understands that.”
Realistically, though, the Giants look like a rebuilding team, and Beckham is 33 and several years past his prime. If he doesn’t start contributing soon, it may be time for the Giants to move on, and give his roster spot to a younger player.
It’s no surprise that a game featuring the presumptive preseason Super Bowl champions and a surprisingly 1-0 team from the nation’s top media market performed well in a standalone window.
The Giants-Rams Week 2 Monday night game attracted a total average audience of 19.4 million on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes.
ESPN claims that Monday Night Football viewership is up 29 percent over the first two weeks of the season.
But it’s difficult to do a true apples-to-apples comparison. In Week 2 of the 2025 season, the NFL staged a consecutive doubleheader on Monday night. The first game, Buccaneers at Texans, started at 7:00 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes. The nightcap, Chargers at Raiders, began at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and NFL+.
The early game averaged 17.4 million viewers. The late game averaged 9.7 million viewers. The average viewership for the two games was 13.5 million.
So, yes, one game starting at the usual time on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes will outperform by a large margin a six-hour marathon with the first game on a big platform and the second game on a much smaller platform.
In future years, it won’t be an issue, because the NFL has pulled the plug on the Monday night doubleheader experiment. For this year, the fact that there were two games in Week 2 a year ago makes it very hard to credibly claim that there has been a dramatic increase in viewership through two weeks.
The Giants are looking at their options for adding a quarterback in the wake of Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury, but it’s Jameis Winston’s show for now.
Winston replaced Dart when he was injured in Monday night’s loss to the Rams and he’s set to start against the Titans in Week 3. It’s not Winston’s first time in the role and he started two games when Dart was injured in 2025, but he called the prospect of getting almost an entire season in the role for the first time since leaving the Bucs after the 2019 season “a beautiful opportunity” to show what he’s capable of doing.
“This is what I’ve always dreamed of, to be a starting quarterback,” Winston said, via a transcript from the team. “Obviously, my respects and gratitude is just going to be with Jaxson, but at the same time, this is what I dream of. I dream of being what I am right now and executing at a high level.”
Winston did not play well against the Rams, but said he is “very confident in my ability to execute with precision” in the weeks to come. With games against the Titans, Cardinals and Commanders in the next three weeks, the Giants will need that to happen immediately or their hopes of doing more than simply surviving the season won’t be in great shape.
John Harbaugh confirmed Jaxson Dart will need surgery to repair his knee injury, but the Giants coach couched how long the quarterback might be out.
“Regular season at least, I would say,” Harbaugh said, via video from SNY Giants.
Asked a follow-up question about whether he was leaving open the possibility of Dart returning for the postseason, if the Giants qualify, Harbaugh said: “I think I said it. I said it. Regular season. Other than that, how do you know? There’s no way to know. It depends on the recovery. You can’t pinpoint it exactly.”
Dart’s absence, though, decreases the Giants’ chances of getting to the playoffs.
Dart, who was injured in Monday night’s loss to the Rams, will undergo surgery to repair damage to the MCL and the meniscus in his left knee, according to multiple reports.
The Giants initially believed Dart’s injury was not season-ending, but the MRI delivered the bad news, and he will undergo surgery soon.
“It’s a big loss for sure. It’s your starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said.
Dart was in team meetings on Wednesday, while trying to come to terms with the fact that his third season is over after only two games.
“I think he’s determined,” Harbaugh said. “He’s bummed. It’s hard. The season’s not over, but it is for him. We kind of talked about that, too. That was part of it. There’s a certain mourning that takes place.”
Jameis Winston will take over as the starter, though the Giants are in the market for a veteran quarterback to join Jake Haener behind Winston. Harbaugh said his message to the team was “it’s not a one-game man.”
“We need to be the best Giants we can be,” he said.
Giants pass rusher Brian Burns said after Monday night’s loss to the Rams that his low ankle sprain was “nothing serious.” But it is probably serious enough to keep him out at least this week.
Burns is likely to miss some time, according to Adam Schefter.
The 28-year-old Burns is one of the Giants’ best defensive players, losing him was a big blow, on a night when the offense suffered an even bigger blow with the loss of quarterback Jaxson Dart, who will miss the rest of the regular season with a knee injury.
The Giants traded for Burns in 2024 and signed him to a five-year, $141 million contract. He has started every game for the Giants since then, and last year he had a career-high 16.5 sacks.
Giants coach John Harbaugh confirmed starting quarterback Jaxson Dart is out for the regular season. Jameis Winston will assume the role of starter, but Harbaugh said the Giants will add another quarterback.
“We will,” Harbaugh said, via video from SNY Giants. “We plan on doing that, absolutely. Can’t say who at this point. We’re working on that.”
Harbaugh, who said he prefers adding a veteran, did not rule out acquiring a quarterback via trade.
“All options are open,” Harbaugh said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.
Jake Haener is the Giants’ only other healthy quarterback besides Winston, and Haener’s only experience is eight games, including one start, with the Saints in 2024.
Earlier today on PFT, Mike Florio laid out the options the Giants have for adding a veteran quarterback.
With Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart reportedly heading for season-ending knee surgery, the Giants have to make a decision about the quarterback position moving forward.
Option A: The Jameis Winston experience, and everything that goes along with it — good, bad, and/or highly entertaining.
Option B: Sign a free agent and see if he would be a better option to win games. At this point, however, most guys who are available would be unlikely to be able to start. Jimmy Garoppolo is the best option.
Option C: Make a trade.
There are some options. Here are some of the ones we noticed after perusing the various rosters and depth charts.
Derek Carr: He’s still on the Saints reserve-retired list. A trade would be required, if there’s mutual interest.
Anthony Richardson: If the Colts would be comfortable with Riley Leonard as the understudy to Daniel Jones, the Colts could finally get value for the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Joe Flacco: John Harbaugh won a Super Bowl with Flacco in Baltimore. And Flacco has repeatedly shown he can still play.
Shedeur Sanders: If the Browns are willing to move on from Sanders, Harbaugh possibly would want Shedeur. The Ravens were going to draft him in 2025, but he didn’t want to back up Lamar Jackson.
Mason Rudolph: He has played a lot, and he may not have much of a future in Pittsburgh.
Sam Howell: He’s the backup to Dak Prescott, and he has plenty of starting experience; the Cowboys could elevate Joe Milton III to take Prescott’s place.
J.J. McCarthy: Jim Harbaugh loves him. John Harbaugh could be intrigued by him.
Gardner Minshew: If the Cardinals are content to have Carson Beck as the backup to Jacoby Brissett, why not? He has 47 career starts.
Mac Jones: He’s in the last year of his contract, and he played well last year in place of Brock Purdy.
The Giants also could pilfer a player from a practice squad. Possibilities (not many) include Will Levis (Jets), Josh Johnson (Bengals), Joe Milton III (Cowboys), and Max Brosmer (Vikings).
It’s not yet official, but it’s getting there.
NFL Network reports that Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart “is expected to have knee surgery that will lead to a full recovery but end his 2026 season.”
The tweet from Ian Rapoport adds that Dart has been seeking opinions about the injury, and his ACL “is intact.”
“But surgery is coming,” Rapoport adds.
That thrusts Jameis Winston into the starting job for the balance of the season, unless and until the Giants make a move for another potential starter.
