Dart suffered the injury — which, reportedly, was initially believed to be a sprained MCL — at the end of the Giants’ first possession in their 28-6 loss to the Rams on Monday night. Jameis Winston replaced Dart, completing 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and an interception.
Dart walked off the field under his own power and was taken into the locker room for further evaluation Monday night, which initially produced results that were encouraging enough for Dart to attempt to re-enter the game, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge reported during the broadcast.
Harbaugh echoed the optimistic sentiment afterward, telling reporters on Monday that it appeared Dart avoided “the devastating outcome” and landed “in the neighborhood” of an MCL sprain, adding New York would know more after a Tuesday MRI.
Tuesday wasn’t as positive, and now the Giants might have to confront a reality they’d hoped to avoid.
Dart’s knee injury marks the second instance in which he’s been sidelined due to health challenges. He missed two games in 2025 due to a concussion and has attracted attention for his fearless style of play, which has left him susceptible to more hits than the average quarterback.
The hit that caused the injury on Monday night, however, occurred with Dart under duress in the pocket and had nothing to do with his scrambling aggression. Unfortunately, the outcome is too familiar to the Giants, who must shift toward preparing Winston as their starter for the foreseeable future.
Winston started two games in place of Dart in 2025, going 0-2 in one-score losses to Green Bay and Detroit. New York felt confident enough about Winston’s capabilities as a veteran backup to reward the 2015 No. 1 overall pick with a two-year, $13 million extension earlier this month, locking down a trusted second option behind Dart.
He’ll have a chance to prove the Giants weren’t misguided in their faith when New York hosts the Tennessee Titans (0-2) on Sunday.