Legendary Giants QB addresses when Jaxson Dart should start

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have insisted throughout the spring that they feel the best way for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart to develop is to do so as a backup for veteran Russell Wilson throughout the 2025 season. 

During a Monday appearance on the FanDuel TV "Up & Adams" program, legendary Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Phil Simms explained how what he experienced as a rookie in 1979 has convinced him Dart needs to face live defenses in meaningful games this coming fall. 

"I wasn’t ready to start the season," Simms said about his debut pro campaign, as shared by Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "But I stood on the sideline, and after about the third game, I go, 'You know, I kind of got it now. I really feel so much more confident, if I do get in the game and play, that I’m going to do well.' And two weeks later, I was the starter."

Daboll and Co. reportedly believe Wilson is the best option as it pertains to the Giants winning games come September. That said, some think that Big Blue could turn to Dart for the club's Week 5 contest at the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 5 if New York begins the season at 1-3 or 0-4. 

The Giants open the campaign with divisional matchups at the Washington Commanders and at the Dallas Cowboys. New York then hosts the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 before the Giants welcome the Los Angeles Chargers to MetLife Stadium in Week 4. 

Simms noted that the idea that Dart should sit for his entire rookie season "is the most overused, stupid thing that I see people say on TV." 

"...There comes a point — six, seven, eight weeks into the season — then I think, unless you see that there’s an opportunity to really be great, we’ve got to find the spot to put Jaxson Dart in there and give him some experience and let him have some success and some failures. Because that’s how you grow in the NFL as a quarterback," Simms added about the 2025 Giants.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants at +125 odds to notch over 5.5 wins during the upcoming season. Such a forecast indicates Simms could be calling for Dart to start as a rookie long before the Giants' Week 14 bye arrives.