Giants' Decision on Jaxson Dart Should be Obvious Following Vikings Loss

For really the first time in his NFL career, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had an ugly game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Dart went 7-for-13 with 33 yards and an interception and was sacked five times in a 16-13 loss that brought the Giants one step closer to the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

New York ended up down three starting offensive linemen on the day, including star left tackle Andrew Thomas, who exited with a hamstring injury in the first quarter.

Thomas' season could be over, and with it, so should Dart's.

And what does that mean?

Well, the Giants have just two games remaining in the regular season. The matchups are against the Las Vegas Raiders — who are also fighting for the No. 1 pick — and the Dallas Cowboys.

Let's be real: as bad as Big Blue has been this year, it has a great shot of beating the Raiders, and we also can't rule out a win over the Cowboys in Week 18 considering Dallas will have nothing to play for after having already been eliminated from playoff contention.

For both the health of Dart and the preservation of the top pick in the draft, the Giants should sit their rookie signal-caller in Weeks 17 and 18 and roll with Russell Wilson under center.

Why Wilson? Because Jameis Winston would give New York too strong of a chance of actually winning a game.

Now, the chances of the Giants actually doing this are slim. Interim head coach Mike Kafka knows he is likely gone after the season, so there really is no reason for him to care about New York's future. Perhaps he will return as offensive coordinator, but at this point, it's looking more and more like he will be gone.

We also don't even know for sure if general manager Joe Schoen will be retained, so this current "regime," if you can call it that, doesn't really have any clear motivation to sit Dart.

But it would be the right decision.

We saw what the Giants' offensive line looked like without Thomas — not to mention two other starters — against the Vikings. Why should Dart — who has already missed two games with a concussion this season and has been in protocol five times — be subjected to that?

These last two contests are absolutely meaningless for the G-Men, and while I won't go as far to say that they are entirely meaningless for Dart's development, let's look at the facts.

Dart is missing his No. 1 wide receiver. His top running back is hurt. His best offensive lineman — the one who protects his blind spot — is now sidelined.

If anything, Dart could actually be negatively affected these last couple of weeks, so sitting him really would be best for him.

Plus, the Giants really, really need that No. 1 pick. Not so they can select a player there, but so they can trade down and reap a ton of draft capital to rebuild the roster.

This is probably more of a pipe dream than anything else given the circumstances, but it's something New York should absolutely be considering.