Jaxson Dart wasn’t suiting up against the Tennessee Titans this weekend anyway, but Wednesday’s final update on his injury saga brought immediate clarity to Robert Saleh.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo rolled out the conclusive medical reports on the Giants quarterback. It was a mixed bag.
Luckily for New York, Dart didn’t tear his ACL, Garafolo confirmed. But he is still undergoing knee surgery to recover properly, Rapoport reported.
Titans Get Big Jaxson Dart Injury Update Before Week 3 Game
“Jaxson Dart suffered damage to his MCL, PCL, and meniscus, per sources. The meniscus is the main issue,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter added on what the injury actually is.
Although it is not a full-blown ACL tear, even the meniscus takes roughly 4-6 months to heal. By the time Dart will be able to actually suit up, the Giants season would be as good as done.
The Titans were mentally prepared to rule out Dart from their Week 3 preparations after the way Dart got sandwiched between Rams‘ Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart in Week 2.
Dart out for potentially the entire season leaves a massive, gaping hole in their offense, even with quarterback Jameis Winston taking over the reins. It isn’t about depth. It’s about all the schemes John Harbaugh had planned for the menace Dart was, and now he will completely have to rewrite those to fit Winston.
There’s always a chance the switch looks clean right away, and that is exactly the window Robert Saleh should feast on. Although Winston took over the offense, he looked every bit the backup quarterback thrown into the fire without warning.
He managed just 11 completions on 27 attempts for 111 yards from the time he took over Dart’s role in the first quarter, had zero touchdowns for the entire game, and got an interception.
Winston’s a little rusty, and the Titans can use that to their maximum advantage to find their first win of the season.
Are Titans Actually Ready to Benefit From Dart’s Absence?
That is only if they can patch up their defense enough by this weekend to not let quarterbacks walk all over them.
Saleh’s backfield has been getting toasted so far in the first two games they played. In both their losses to the Jets and Eagles combined, the Titans defense surrendered 467 passing yards on 61 attempts, giving up a heavy 7.3 yards per pass attempt.
The issues that these numbers stem from clearly show just how much of a work-in-progress Saleh’s team still is.
Blown zone assignments and terrible safety eye discipline have been their most obvious Achilles’ heel from the first two games, and it is something the Giants will surely use against them.
They do have high-priced new additions like Alontae Taylor and Cor’Dale Flott, but they very much look like still trying to find their footing. Veteran depth Joshua Williams won’t be back until at least Week 4 since he’s on IR, and the Titans are already feeling his absence.
A lot of things need to go right besides just the defense for Tennessee to actually pull one off against the Giants.
Their most dangerous offensive weapon might be out, but the receiver following him closely behind, Malik Nabers, will still be a big headache for the Titans this Sunday, perhaps the biggest one.
New Jaxson Dart Injury Update is Exactly the News Titans Wanted Before Giants Game