Given the way Russell Wilson and the New York Giants’ offense looked through the first three games of the season, head coach Brian Daboll was always going to have to shake things up in order to save his job.
He did so successfully in Week 4, handing the reins of the offense to first-round rookie Jaxson Dart. The Ole Miss product piloted the Giants to a shocking upset win over the previously unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers, providing some much-needed optimism to the Big Blue faithful.
However, his reckless style of play did rear its ugly head throughout his NFL debut, leading to a few injury scares, including a trip to the concussion protocol tent. How is the Giants’ rookie faring, and have there been any changes to his status for Week 5?
Will Jaxson Dart Be Ready for the Week 5 Clash Against the Saints?
Though no official injury report has been released just yet, Daboll did confirm that Dart is doing well and should be on track to play against the New Orleans Saints in Week 5.
Dart dealt with a few bumps and bruises in his debut, and his hamstring tightness, on top of his concussion scare, plagued him.
Daboll said Dart would practice Wednesday with the first-team offense, suggesting all is well in New York. Of course, given Dart’s importance to the Giants’ (and Daboll’s) future, don’t be surprised if the Giants play things cautiously and give Dart some limited practices this week.
Of course, the big injury news in the Giants’ organization is the loss of superstar wide receiver Malik Nabers, who sustained a season-ending ACL tear in the team’s win over the Chargers.
Dart completed just 65% of his passes for 111 yards in his debut, 20 of which went to Nabers before his injury. As expected, the second-year wideout leads the team in all receiving categories through four games this season, recording 18 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
Considering the Giants rank 29th in PFSN’s offensive impact metric — ahead of only the 1-3 Cleveland Browns, 2-2 Cincinnati Bengals, and 0-4 Tennessee Titans — the team will have to do everything in its power to help Dart’s development in the wake of Nabers’ absence.
The good news is, barring a surprising development during practice this week, Giants fans will be able to watch their sterling rookie take on the 0-4 Saints in Week 5. If Dart and New York can win that contest, he’d join the list of a handful of Giants quarterbacks who started their careers 2-0. Daniel Jones did it in a Giants uniform for the last time in 2019, after Danny Kanell in 1997.
