Evan Barnes: Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart's injury is a major test for John Harbaugh
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart prior to the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on September 21, 2026. Credit: Getty Images/Harry How
The future of this Giants season rested on Jaxson Dart’s left knee Tuesday. By the afternoon, that future seemed bleak and hopeless.
Multiple reports indicated that Dart’s injury was worse than feared and he could face the possibility of season-ending surgery. It triggered flashbacks to last season when Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo suffered season-ending injuries.
John Harbaugh was measured in addressing it. He wouldn’t confirm the severity of the injury and said that evaluations are ongoing, so no final decision has been made on Dart’s future.
“I wouldn’t really want to share too much until decisions get made and that takes more than one person,” Harbaugh said Tuesday on a Zoom call. “It takes everybody involved. So when we know what direction we’re going to have to go or whatever it might be, we’ll announce that.
“But we don’t have that yet, so I don’t want to get out over our skis on that."
Still, it changes the trajectory of Harbaugh’s first season. He was a hired as a culture-changer. Somebody whose pedigree of winning could rub off on the Giants, who have had eight losing seasons since 2016.
Instead, he has to make a miracle out of one of his toughest challenges. All that promise surrounding Harbaugh’s arrival started with having Dart as a key piece.
This isn’t what Harbaugh signed up for in January. But this is why the Giants signed him up. Salvage a ship that could sink with Dart sidelined.
“We can't control things, we don't have the ability to dictate, as much as we'd like to, any kind of outcome,” Harbaugh said. “So, whatever transpires is what we're going to have to respond to and react to. We’re going to have to meet those circumstances, whatever they are.”
Let’s start with Dart. Being sidelined means less time to build chemistry with Nabers, the partnership the Giants dreamed could carry this offense.
Dart and Nabers have played just 68 snaps in less than six quarters. For comparison, Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes played 68 snaps together last Sunday for Kansas City in its overtime win over the Colts.
Dart, Nabers and Skattebo have shared the field for just 43 of the Giants’ 1,208 offensive plays in the last two seasons. It doesn’t bode well that all three have had significant injuries in the last 12 months.
For the second straight season, Dart will miss time due to injury. This is obviously worse than missing two games with a concussion as a rookie. But it means more pressure on a pivotal third season when Dart is up for an extension after 2027.
That’s a long-term worry, but one that can be delayed. The immediate concerns are most important. The Giants again have a serious quarterback issue that reminds us of when Daniel Jones was injured in 2023 and faltered in 2024.
Certainly, a week of prep will have Jameis Winston more ready than he looked on Monday. But Harbaugh and his staff have to do a lot of work to scheme around him, given his wild variance of big plays and turnovers.
"Pressure is for the unprepared,” Winston said. “You keep preparing. You be ready. So, whatever happens, happens.”
Fortunately, the Giants’ schedule is favorable the next four weeks: hosting the Titans (0-2) and Cardinals (1-1). Then, at the Commanders (0-2) - whose quarterback, Jayden Daniels, is out with a dislocated elbow - and hosting the Saints (1-1).
It’s not crazy to finding some wins there. Even if they’re ugly wins, you take them and build on what happens.
Of course, they're other injuries besides Dart's to fret over. Harbaugh didn’t provide updates on left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) and linebacker Brian Burns (low ankle sprain). If either misses significant time, the problems get worse.
Both the offensive line and defensive front struggled on Monday. How will they fare if their best pieces miss time?
All of this comes back to Harbaugh. If he’s the coach the Giants believe he is, he can make this work. But history says that his teams couldn’t rally without their quarterback.
The 2021 Ravens finished the season 0-6, 0-4 after Lamar Jackson got hurt, and missed the playoffs. In 2022, Jackson missed the final six games, including a playoff game, and the Ravens were 2-4 in those contests.
Last season, the Ravens were 2-2 without Jackson.
Most teams would crater without their starting quarterback. Harbaugh’s no different, but the Giants have weathered too much losing for players, personnel and outsiders to accept more of it.
The Giants hired Harbaugh to make toughness a new foundation. Now they have to lean on it to rescue a season without Dart until, possibly, 2027.
It’s a tough ask but one the Giants are trusting that Harbaugh can deliver on. Even if it seems implausible.
“We just got to prepare for the range of possibilities,” Harbaugh said. “And then once we know where we're at, make a plan going forward and that's really what we're going to do.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
