EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee after being hit during Monday Night Football’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, with the team set to confirm the extent of the injury through an MRI scheduled for Tuesday.
Dart went down on the final play of the Giants’ opening drive, taking a hit from Rams defenders Josaiah Stewart and Byron Young while attempting a third-down deep pass. His left knee bent awkwardly in the collision, and he fell to the ground clutching the joint in pain as trainers rushed onto the field to assess him. Despite the severity of the initial reaction, Dart was able to walk off the field under his own power; the Giants had a cart standing by to transport him off but he declined it, walking slowly down the sideline instead before being evaluated further in the medical tent and eventually taken to the locker room.
X-rays performed at SoFi Stadium came back negative, according to ESPN and NFL Media, offering an early sign that Dart had avoided a more severe structural injury. NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo subsequently reported that Dart is believed to have sustained a sprained MCL based on initial exams, with the team scheduling an MRI for Tuesday to confirm the diagnosis and determine the severity of the sprain.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh addressed the injury following the game, cautioning that a fuller picture wouldn’t be available until after Tuesday’s imaging. “We’ll know more tomorrow. That’s in the neighborhood of it,” Harbaugh said when asked about the reported MCL sprain. “We’ll get an MRI tomorrow and have a really good feel for it.”
Giants general manager Joe Schoen offered a more optimistic public assessment in comments to ESPN’s Laura Rutledge during the broadcast, saying simply that Dart is “going to be OK.” According to reporting on the injury, Dart himself pushed to return to the game in the first half, but the Giants’ medical and coaching staff would not allow him back onto the field, ultimately ruling him out for the remainder of the contest early in the third quarter.
Dart’s exit forced backup quarterback Jameis Winston into extended action for the second consecutive week in which the Giants’ offensive game plan had to shift on short notice. Winston completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with an interception as New York’s offense struggled to replicate the form it had shown the previous week in a win over the Dallas Cowboys, ultimately falling 28-6 to the Rams. Giants running back Cam Skattebo spoke to the difficulty of the in-game transition after the loss. “Obviously, it sucks losing your starter because everything you do revolves around the guy that is going to play the game,” Skattebo said. “We have full trust in Jameis when he came in the game. We just couldn’t execute.”
Dart was not the only Giants player banged up during Monday’s loss. Wide receiver Malik Nabers is dealing with a shoulder injury, outside linebacker Brian Burns sustained an ankle injury, and left tackle Andrew Thomas is managing a groin issue, though none of the three is expected to miss significant time, according to sources cited by ESPN.
The injury comes during what had otherwise been a strong start to Dart’s second NFL season. As a rookie in 2025, Dart took over as the Giants’ starting quarterback in Week 4 and went on to complete 63.7% of his passes for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions across 12 starts, establishing himself as a foundational piece for a franchise that has posted losing records in 11 of its past 13 seasons. Dart had also weathered an earlier injury scare during the preseason, when he was sacked hard by Minnesota Vikings safety Jay Ward in the first quarter of New York’s preseason opener on August 15, an incident significant enough to send him to the medical tent for evaluation, though he returned to the same drive and threw a touchdown pass to rookie Malachi Fields.
Should Dart require extended time to recover from Monday’s knee injury, the Giants do have experience navigating the offense with Winston under center. During a stretch last season when Dart was sidelined, Winston led the offense to success in starts against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, throwing for a combined 567 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions, while also adding a rushing touchdown and a receiving score on a trick play during the game against Detroit.
With Dart’s MRI scheduled for Tuesday, the Giants are expected to have a clearer picture of both the severity of the sprain and an estimated recovery timeline in the coming days. In the meantime, the team faces the challenge of navigating its offensive game plan around Winston, a reversal from the momentum New York had built entering Monday’s matchup off the strength of its win over Dallas the week before.
