Giants' Jaxson Dart Faces Possible Season-Ending Knee Surgery, Reports Say
Tuesday testing showed the injury is worse than the "neighborhood of MCL" diagnosis coach John Harbaugh gave Monday night, ESPN and NFL Network reported. Harbaugh declined to confirm specifics hours later.
Further testing on Jaxson Dart's injured knee revealed Tuesday that the damage is worse than first believed, and the Giants quarterback now faces the possibility of season-ending surgery, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
"Of all the QB injuries suffered in Week 2, Dart's is turning out to easily be the most significant," Schefter wrote.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo independently reported the same development, citing their own sourcing. Rapoport wrote that Dart "suffered a knee injury last night that was worse than anticipated" and is "out an extended period of time, possibly the season." Garafolo, in a separate post, said an MRI "revealed a knee injury more severe than anticipated."
Neither Schefter, Rapoport nor Garafolo has specified which structure in Dart's knee is affected.
The reports reverse the outlook Harbaugh gave Monday night, when he said the injury was "in the neighborhood" of a sprained MCL.
Harbaugh, speaking with reporters Tuesday afternoon, declined to confirm specifics. "Evaluations are ongoing. We haven't got any final decisions yet," he said, adding, "I wouldn't really want to share too much until decisions get made, and that takes more than one person." He said the team would announce its direction once it has one: "We don't have that yet, so I don't want to get out over our skis on that," according to the team.
Dart was hurt on the Giants' first drive of Monday's 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and did not return, GiantsGator has reported. Jameis Winston finished the game at quarterback.