New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has cleared concussion protocol, the Giants announced Thursday. He’s expected to start Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots.
Dart has missed the previous two games due to a concussion he suffered in the Giants’ Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears. Veteran backup Jameis Winston started those games, both losses, completing 37 of 65 passes for 567 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Winston also tallied one rushing and one receiving touchdown in those starts.
QB Jaxson Dart has cleared the concussion protocol. pic.twitter.com/EqCWtTZJWS
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 27, 2025
Dart returns to a 2-10 Giants team mired in a six-game losing streak. The Giants haven’t won since their Week 6 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, as they recently became the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention. Perhaps the biggest storyline regarding Dart’s return is how the team will manage his aggressiveness as a runner. Dart has been examined for a concussion four times this year, including the preseason, before suffering a confirmed concussion against the Bears.
Under previous head coach Brian Daboll, who was fired after that loss to Chicago, Dart was used on designed runs more than any other QB in the league. Daboll typically encouraged the rookie’s bold running style, saying he trusted Dart to make the right decisions on the field.
Dart, meanwhile, has been mostly defiant in response to suggestions that he practice more self-preservation when running the ball.
“I’m going to play the game the way I want to play the game,” Dart said days before getting injured.
The unknown variable at play this week is interim head coach Mike Kafka. Even while Daboll was in town, Kafka was still calling the plays as the offensive coordinator, so it was at his direction that Dart was running keepers at the goal line at the end of blowout losses. However, reports surfaced after Daboll was fired that the team would encourage Dart to be more cautious when he returns to the field, so perhaps Kafka will also be more measured and take fewer chances with his young quarterback.
Dart has been around the facility the last few weeks, but hasn’t been able to talk with reporters while in protocol. When asked what he’s seen from the rookie, Winston said he was “locked” into the conversations like any regular week.
“I mean, last week, man, he was determined to play,” Winston said. “It’s just the NFL has a strict protocol, and that’s what happened. I was grateful, but at the same time, I felt for him because I know how much work he puts in, and I know how he prepares, and I just told him I had his back.”
While the Giants did not practice Thursday, the team released its first injury report of the week. A concerning note for Monday’s availability is that All-Pro DT Dexter Lawrence was listed as a projected nonparticipant after he aggravated his surgically repaired elbow last week. OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) and LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (neck/knee) were also listed as nonparticipants.
The positive note for the Giants is they’ll finally have a bye week after Monday night’s game.