What Dart's Recovery Actually Looks Like

Jaxson Dart's four-to-six-month recovery estimate, reported by SNY's John Flanigan on Friday, covers two different surgical outcomes.

Dr. Anthony Petrosini, a sports medicine and orthopedic surgeon at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, is not on Dart's care team and has not examined him. Speaking generally about the type of injury reported for Dart — damage to the MCL, PCL and meniscus — Petrosini told SI.com's Patricia Traina that the range depends on what surgeons find once they are inside the knee. "Both MCLs and PCLs can be treated non-operatively," he said, but a ligament that instead requires reconstruction or repair will "elongate the process." A torn meniscus, which Adam Schefter has reported is "the main issue" in Dart's case, can be sewn back together. Petrosini described the repair as "almost like a gasket or weather stripping" that is sutured to reattach tissue to the knee capsule.

That distinction produces Petrosini's two timelines: roughly three months in a best-case scenario that would roughly align with a playoff run, and four to six months if reconstruction is required — the same outer range already reported for Dart.

The early weeks look similar either way, according to Petrosini. Patients are typically kept on protected or non-weight-bearing status at first, with therapy focused on "range of motion and full activation" to prevent "significant atrophy" and stiffness. Following a meniscal repair specifically, he said, "usually ... you're putting full weight on it" by around six weeks.

Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy offered the season's clearest comparison point Thursday. Nagy coached Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City through the torn ACL and LCL Mahomes suffered in a Week 15 home loss to the Chargers last Dec. 14, one day before Mahomes had surgery. "I went through it last year with the quarterback I was with, and you got to see how he attacked that from the very next day, and that's what Jaxson's going to do," Nagy said, according to a Giants.com transcript of Thursday's press conference. He added: "I mean, I just saw him over there, and he kind of mentioned he's ready to go right now. He's kidding. He wants to be out there. He wants to be there. But it's just who he is. It's a part of his journey. This will make him stronger, and we've just got to be there for him, and we've got to understand that what he did up until this point has been good. So now, when he does get back, whenever that is, it's going to be a beautiful thing."

Dart's own path diverges from Mahomes' at the start. Mahomes had surgery the day after his injury. Dart, hurt Sept. 21 against the Rams, had surgery four days later, after additional testing and a second opinion, the Post reported.

Mahomes' return is the clearest real-world comparison available for what a strong recovery from significant knee surgery can look like, though the underlying injury differs — an ACL and LCL tear, not the MCL and PCL damage reported for Dart. Mahomes came back in Week 1 of this season, about nine months after he was hurt, and is 2-0 with the Chiefs. Through two games, he has thrown for 566 yards, completing 63.5 percent of his passes (47 of 74), with five touchdowns and one interception.

Nagy's comparison, as reported, was about approach and mindset — how Dart is attacking rehab. It wasn't a claim that the two injuries carry the same timeline. Harbaugh has not ruled out a Dart return if the Giants reach the playoffs.