The New York Giants were one of the NFL’s pleasant surprises in Week 1, beginning the John Harbaugh era with an impressive win over the Dallas Cowboys thanks in large part to the play of second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The Giants’ dreams of a turnaround season quickly hit a roadblock on Monday, however, as Dart became the latest upstart QB to be sidelined with an injury. Only two weeks into the NFL season, the game’s young stars are seeing their seasons upended due to varying degrees of injuries.
Dart joined the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams and the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels as signal callers who had to leave the field early in Week 2. That trio joined a list of sidelined quarterbacks that also includes the Minnesota Vikings’ Kyler Murray and the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold.
All five of those players are former first-round draft picks — and all are under the age of 30.
Dart left in the first quarter of New York’s 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. On a third-and-8 pass attempt, Dart was sandwiched by multiple players as the pocket collapsed around him, and he took a substantial hit to his left knee from a Rams linebacker.
Dart limped off the field and was taken back to the locker room. After initially being ruled questionable to return, he was ruled out for good in the second half.
“He’s going to be OK,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge during the “Monday Night Football” broadcast, adding that Dart would undergo X-rays at the stadium.
Dart’s hard-charging play style raised eyebrows during his rookie season, when he missed time due to a concussion but seemingly refused to tone down his aggressiveness when he returned.
During the preseason, Dart even expressed confusion at why he so often is required to enter the blue medical tent on the sidelines.
“I really respect the rules, and the thought behind, you know, the NFL has of keeping players healthy and reviewing things,” Dart said in August after a big hit required he undergo a mandatory medical evaluation. “But at the same time, I’m still puzzled by just feeling like every time that I get hit, you know, I just find my way in there.”
Dart’s injury Monday, though, came on a relatively routine pass play, highlighting how no quarterback is ever truly safe.
The same can be said of the Commanders’ Daniels, who dislocated his left elbow while trying to regain his balance after he was tripped by one of his own lineman in a 37-20 loss to the Cowboys. Daniels, the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, dislocated the same elbow last season, in which he appeared in only seven games due to multiple injuries.
“It sucks for him,” Washington coach Dan Quinn told reporters Monday. “I know how much these guys put into it. So, when there are setbacks like this, you just want to stand by them.”
A little before Daniels’ exit, the Bears’ Williams was carted off the field with a hamstring strain in a 9-3 loss to the Vikings. While Williams’ emotional exit from the game quickly became a social media meme, it also cut short what had been an exciting start to the season. Chicago was coming off a Week 1 in which it had scored 59 points.
“He’s right now working through every avenue that he’s got available to get back on track here. We’ll see what that looks like,” Bears coach Ben Johnson told reporters Monday.
Johnson added that Williams has an ability to recover quickly, and his injury is considered week-to-week.
While the Bears, Giants and the Commanders all lost after their starters went down, their seasons are far from over.
The Vikings lost Murray in Week 1 but still managed a 2-0 start to the season with Carson Wentz at the helm. And now Murray is expected to start in Week 3 after recovering from a concussion.
The Seahawks are also 2-0 with Drew Lock playing in place of Darnold, and even exploded for 31 points on Sunday. Darnold is expected to return to practice this week, though his starting status is up in the air.
For now, the Bears will turn to Tyler Bagent, the Giants to Jameis Winston, and the Commanders to Marcus Mariota as the three clubs try to keep their seasons afloat without their young leaders.
And Dart, Williams and Daniels — all three of whom have flashed potential to not only be great players but stewards for the league because of their exciting style of play — will have to wait a little longer to cement their star turns.
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