Jaxson Dart’s time will come in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but for now, the New York Giants are sticking with Week 1 starter Russell Wilson for the foreseeable future.
As reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there is ‘no sense of urgency’ to promote the former Ole Miss star ahead of the veteran free agent acquisition despite Wilson’s disappointing performance in New York’s loss to Washington last week.
For the time being, the team would prefer to let Dart learn behind Wilson, who remains the starter heading into the Giants’ Week 2 battle against the Dallas Cowboys.
Complicating Dart’s anticipated promotion is the Lisfranc injury that has kept left tackle Andrew Thomas on the sideline. The anchor of the Giants’ offensive line and a second-team All-Pro in 2022, Thomas is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game in Dallas, where James Hudson III is expected to start on Wilson’s blind side.
Head coach Brian Daboll previously said Wilson would remain his Week 2 starter, but Schefter’s reporting speaks to the team’s broader plans for the 2025 season.
Wilson entered training camp as the presumptive starter over Dart, a first-round pick, and veteran former Heisman winner Jameis Winston. He maintained the starting job throughout camp and the preseason, even as Dart impressed by completing 32 of 47 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns in three exhibitions.
Dart impressed in the preseason by completing 32 of 47 passes for 372 yards and three TDs
Russell Wilson (pictured) entered training camp as the presumptive starter over Jaxson Dart, a first-round pick, and veteran former Heisman winner Jameis Winston
But entering Week 1, NFL Network reported the installation of a package of plays for Dart in the Giants offense, which ultimately went unused as New York fell 21-6.
And given Wilson’s 17-for-37 performance, which included a pair of costly sacks, Giants fans have predictably been calling for his demotion in favor of Dart, who remains patiently prepared.
‘I’m just preparing for whatever chance I get,’ Dart told reporters Friday. ‘So there is not a specific game plan or something like that. It’s me just trying to be prepared and be ready whenever my number is called.
‘Anytime that you don’t win, people talk and things like that happen,’ Dart said Friday. ‘It’s completely different if you win. You have to take all that with a grain of salt, and my job is to control what I can control and be the best teammate I can be.’
Wilson, meanwhile, responded to criticism with a succinct social media post earlier this week.
‘Mentally Tough,’ Wilson wrote on X.
Now Wilson faces a Cowboys defense that surrendered 21 first-half points to the Super Bowl-champion Eagles in Philadelphia last week, only to buckle down in the second half by yielding only a field goal in a 24-20 loss.
