Desperate for a win last season, the New York Giants entered their Week-6 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles with one aim: Get the job done. The team was 1-5 at the time, led by their rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart. But just when things were looking up, Dart sustained a hit to his shoulder from Eagles linebacker Patrick Johnson in the late third quarter.

He was slow to get up and was taken directly to the blue medical tent under concussion protocol. By then, the QB had already visited that place four times that season. In fact, he has visited the blue tent in at least 43 percent of his career games already. No wonder he didn’t like it and showed his displeasure. In the Giants’ preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings this Saturday, let’s just say Dart brought the topic back.

“As far as the blue tent, I really respect the rules and the thought behind the NFL has of keeping players healthy and reviewing things,” Dart said during the post-game presser. “But at the same time, I’m still puzzled by it just feeling like every time that I get hit, I just find my way in there. Which, at times, I still try to wrap my head around.”

With the Giants playing with their new head coach, John Harbaugh, Jaxson Dart didn’t skip the preseason opener. But on a second-and-10 late in the first quarter, Vikings safety Jay Ward blitzed past the Giants and hit Jaxson Dart on the torso to sack him. Dart slowly got up and was taken directly to the tent. The frustration was visible right after the game on the sideline, as well.

“I’m not going to talk too much about the tent,” Dart told NBC’s Bruce Beck, hinting that his latest trip to the blue tent was unnecessary.

Dart felt he was healthy enough to continue playing, considering the hit wasn’t even to his head, but the medical spotter ordered a concussion check. The QB missed a few snaps but returned to give his team a short-spanned 7-3 lead in the very next play. He may be asked to undergo another concussion examination on Sunday, which is a common practice for any player. However, the call surprised head coach John Harbaugh as well.

“Honestly, I was [surprised],” Harbaugh said after the game. “But I would say that their job is to err on the side of player safety, so I can’t argue with that either.”

Dart did confess the wind being knocked out of him on that play after the 10-13 loss. Ward’s helmet had collided with Dart’s chest. Even Harbaugh agreed.

“My feelings in that moment was, ‘We need to block better,'” Harbaugh said in the post-game presser.

Per the rules, game officials have the right to alert staff if they suspect a player on the field might have suffered a concussion. Jaxson Dart went 3-of-4 for 26 passing yards, recorded one score and two sacks. However, the interruptions are now getting to the QB.

The NFL knows what happens if a concussion protocol isn’t followed, yet Jaxson Dart continues to complain

The second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart made five trips to the medical tent in a ten-game span in his rookie season. And while he has been lucky so far, the blue tent visits have been a hassle for the QB.

“It felt so long,” Dart said last season after the win over the Eagles. “A few guys popped in. I was just trying to get back there on the field. I understand they have protocol and whatnot. I was just trying to get out there fast.”

Then, Dart didn’t miss much. But wasn’t exactly happy with the continuous interruptions. It was his third visit to the blue tent in four games. The matter only got worse when the former head coach Brian Daboll and fellow rookie running back Cam Skattebo also got involved.

You see, except for the doctor, the athletic trainer, and the player in focus, no one is allowed in the medical blue tent. However, wanting to get Dart back on the field quickly, Daboll poked his head into the tent. The broadcast also caught him in an animated discussion with the team’s doctor. Later, Skattebo also went into the tent to talk to Dart. Both declined that they were hurrying the process. Skattebo even joked.

 “I was making sure that Jaxson wasn’t hurting anybody in the injury tent,” the running back said after the game.

The league, however, didn’t budge.

The NFL and the NFLPA launched an investigation into whether Daboll and Skattebo hurried the concussion protocol for Dart. The Giants were assessed a $200,000 fine for violating the protocol, while Daboll was fined $100,000, and Skattebo $15,000 for conduct detrimental to the league. While Daboll was fined, he continued to stand by his truth.

“Yeah, I’m not going to get into that. I do have respect for the process, but it was more I peeked in for a couple seconds to see how a player that’s important to us, important to me, how he was doing. It was a two-second question, ‘How you doing, bud?'” Daboll said the next day.

The league takes the concussion protocol and medical blue tent very seriously, considering concussions are the biggest reason why a quarterback could be in life-threatening danger, and the league knows it all too well.

Case in point: San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers left guard Kris Dielman’s incident. The Pro Bowler was hurt early in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets. But with the team already low on help due to other injuries, Dielman continued to play. While flying back home, he suffered a seizure due to the concussion. He retired the next season.

While that’s not the case with Dart, the league and the team certainly want to avoid even a slight chance of such incidents now. They introduced the sideline medical tents in the 2017 season for player protection, which it certainly has done.