Giants' John Harbaugh addresses big Jaxson Dart concern

In May, New York Giants second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart acknowledged that he had spoken with first-year Giants head coach John Harbaugh and members of Harbaugh's staff about the signal-caller better protecting himself in games. 

During a recent appearance on "The Domonique Foxworth Show," Harbaugh compared takes about Dart's playing style to what has been said about Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens over the years. Harbaugh was Jackson's head coach from the 2018 NFL Draft through the end of the 2025 regular season. 

Jaxson Dart is "aware" the Giants need him to stay healthy

"I mean, he's aware of it," Harbaugh said about Dart knowing he has to be available for the Giants, per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "You got a fine line. I remember hearing the same thing about Lamar, and the same things were said about Lamar really every year, but especially after the first season. 'It's unsustainable the way he plays. It's never gonna last. You've got to protect him. He can't run as much.' You say something like that to Lamar, and he kinda just looks at you like you've got three heads. It's like, 'No, I'm gonna play ball, I'm gonna play ball.' I just knew, I trusted that he was gonna protect himself because he wants to be out there and he wants to play, and it's not the type of a sport where you [can] put yourself in bubble wrap. You're gonna play ball, and you're gonna get tackled, and things can happen out there. But I do think playing the game in a way that respects that there are other guys out there that are capable of doing damage to you when you have the ball in your hands, especially for the quarterback, is important. I trust that Jaxson Dart understands that."

Jackson has a concerning injury history, but he has also proven that he can stay healthy enough to win two MVP awards. The same can't yet be said for Dart, who was forced out of games on five occasions to get checked for concussions during his rookie campaign. One of those checks resulted in Dart missing two November contests while he was in the concussion protocol. 

Harbaugh and Co. could have "some uncomfortable conversations" in early 2027 if Dart misses a handful of games during the upcoming season due to any kind of injury setback. That said, it sounds like Harbaugh wants to get the most out of Dart's physical abilities this fall. 

Jaxson Dart "can live in a lot of different worlds."  

"Jaxson's capable of doing a lot of things," Harbaugh explained. "Like he can live in a lot of different worlds, football-wise. He can live in a power-running game, obviously, and a power-running game protects the quarterback because you can hand the ball off and make people defend that and keep them honest. Then, it opens up your play-action passing game. …That stuff, we're gonna be in those worlds. But now we can also get in the gun, or we can get in the pistol, and we can run [run-pass option plays]. We can run quarterback-driven runs with Jaxson Dart, a lot of the stuff that we had in Baltimore with Lamar, as well. ...Jaxson is a guy that does give you a chance to live in all those different worlds. So, if he can do it, then we're gonna do it, and that's what we're planning on doing."

It remains to be seen how many starts Dart will make for such an offense from September through January 2027.