New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart now has a knee injury, but there is one small silver lining.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart left the team's loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night in the first quarter due to a knee injury, an injury that could have been a lot worse than it actually was.
Dart was injured when a defender ran into his left knee while he was airborne, and the knee bent the wrong way in a moment that was hard to watch.
The good news? Dart walked off under his own power. The bad news? He appears to have a sprained MCL and will almost certainly miss some time.
It's also fortunate that Dart's left leg was not planted at the time, or else the injury almost surely would have been much more significant.
The one silver lining here is that this was an absolute freak injury that absolutely does not confirm the notion that Dart is injury prone.
Heading into 2026, the biggest concern surrounding Dart was his penchant for getting dinged up, particularly when it came to head injuries. The former first-round pick found himself being evaluated for concussions five times last season, and on one occasion, he did sustain a concussion that caused him to miss a couple of games.
This injury wasn't that. This was the direct result of a freak accident that could have happened to any quarterback, so the injury doesn't fit the overarching Dart narrative.
Does Dart's injury — coupled with the fact that Malik Nabers, Andrew Thomas and Brian Burns also suffered injuries during the game — likely ruin any chance the Giants had of contending for a playoff spot this season? Based on the way Jameis Winston looked in relief of Dart on Monday evening, potentially.
I didn't think New York would be making the playoffs anyway this year, but the fact that injuries might now going to be the primary reason why is unfortunate.
But on the bright side, Dart's injury could have ended in a torn ACL — or worse — if things were slightly different in that moment. It didn't.
And I will say that the Giants' schedule becomes incredibly easy over the next four weeks, with meetings against the Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders and New Orleans Saints. Three of those four games are at home.
So perhaps there's still hope. But there's no question things are not going according to plan, and the reasons for that are particularly irritating.
