This was supposed to be a year of rebuilding under head coach John Harbaugh for the New York Giants. Instead, their 2026 hopes came crashing down on Week 2 itself. While Big Blue still waited for some positive update on quarterback Jaxson Dart’s knee after he exited in the very first drive of his game against the Los Angeles Rams, it looks like that wait will now extend to 2027.

“Giants QB Jaxson Dart is expected to have knee surgery that will lead to a full recovery but end his 2026 season, sources told me and Mike Garafolo,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on X. “Dart has been soliciting opinions on the injury. And the ACL is intact. But surgery is coming.”

Shortly after Rapoport’s tweet went live, fellow NFL insider Adam Schefter shed more light on the severity of Dart’s injury, adding more cause for concern.

“Jaxson Dart suffered damage to his MC, PCL, and meniscus,” Schefter wrote, reposting Rapoport’s tweet. “The meniscus is the main issue.”

Now, even after he limped off the field, Dart wanted to get back into the game. But after a trip to the locker room, he came back to the sideline in street clothes, shutting down any hopes of an immediate return. But that drive to get back on the field may be exactly why he’s also trying to get a second opinion.

Initially on game day, many lip readers had discovered a Giants staffer possibly telling Coach Harbaugh that Dart will likely be out for four to six weeks. While that sparked a lot of optimism at the time, we now know that Dart isn’t coming back this season. As for the diagnosis, shortly after breaking the news, Ian Rapoport appeared on NFL Total Access and shared more details.

“As far as the specifics, our understanding is it is a torn meniscus and a torn MCL. Both of those will be addressed surgically,” Rapoport said. “Colleague Adam Schefter also adds that it is damages to his PCL. That, from my understanding, is not something that will be addressed surgically. Essentially, what this does is give Jaxson Dart about a six month recovery. If it was a torn ACL – which it is not, this would be about a 9 to 11 or 12 month recovery.

“This news would be much better. This news gives him a recovery that’s a little bit shorter. But obviously, those are issues that we’ll be addressing this coming offseason, not this season. The issue this season is that Jaxson Dart has now played his last down for the Giants in 2026. Jameis Winston is now QB1 for the Giants.”

Once Dart exited the game in Week 2, backup quarterback Jameis Winston took over, but only managed 11-of-27 completions for 111 yards and a pick in a 28-6 blowout. Rapoport agrees that Winston struggled last week, but now, with all the hopes on his throwing arm, we could see an uptick in plays.

“Full week of practice, knowing he’s going to be the quarterback, knowing the team doesn’t have just the emotional letdown of seeing their leader go down with a significant injury, the performance should be better,” Rapoport said. “But the reality is… there’s no choice for the New York Giants because Jaxson Dart is not coming back this season.”

The Giants do have the option of elevating Jake Haener from the practice squad to add depth behind Winston. But Haener signed with the Giants mid-August, only to be re-signed to the practice squad right before September. So far in New York, Haener has only shared snaps in two preseason games. He went 3-of-3 for 15 yards against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2, but had a better day in the preseason finale. Against the New York Jets in Week 3, he went 6-of-7 for 101 yards and one touchdown.

But that’s not the offensive playmaker John Harbaugh spent all offseason grooming. So adding another quarterback to the depth chart is likely in the cards. However, Rapoport doesn’t believe they could get a plug-and-play solution.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they added another quarterback. I just don’t know that it’s going to be a splashy or exciting name,” Rapoport added. “There’s been a lot of things kind of tosses around on Twitter and social media about the different quarterbacks Giants could add. I know what the Giants are doing right now is looking at all options. But the problem with the quarterback world is understanding the plays and the system is as important as basically anything else.

“In other works, you can have a really talented quarterback like, oh I don’t know, let’s just say JJ McCarthy. And if you drop him into a system he’s unfamiliar with, it’s going to be a struggle almost no matter what. We’ve seen quarterbacks who don’t play a lot in the preseason who come out and aren’t themselves till about a month into the season. Imagine having just no preseason or offseason at all. It is incredibly challenging. So whoever they bring in, I would not expect it to be someone to contribute right away. I would expect more of a depth signing.”

Even as they look at quarterback options, the Giants also need to figure out how severe wide receiver Malik Nabers’ injury is. The WR1 left the game against the Rams with what looked like an arm injury, and remains questionable for the Week 3 clash against the visiting Tennessee Titans.

This is Jameis Winston’s offense to run, and he has already proven he can be a reliable backup when the situation calls for it. Beyond that, someone else could come in to shore up the QB room. But all the hopes for fireworks from Harbaugh and Jaxson Dart have officially come to an end. Now, Big Blue has to scramble for answers to save their 2026 season.