New Giants coaches have talked with Jaxson Dart about worrisome traits

While speaking at the New York Giants Town Hall in Manhattan this past Monday night, second-year Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart acknowledged that "the most important thing" he learned as a rookie is that he has "to be on the field."

However, Dart added that he will "go right through" an opponent who is standing in his path during a key play. That comment led some to wonder if he won't do a better job of protecting himself this coming season after he took far too many crunching hits as a rookie. 

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Dart was asked about conversations he has had with head coach John Harbaugh and the rest of the new Giants' staff about better protecting himself moving forward. 

Jaxson Dart learning to be "situationally" smart

"That was one of our first meetings with [passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan], just pulling up my tape and just going over situationally, like, is it worth the risk here in this situation," Dart explained, per the Giants' website. "And that's what we talk about a ton, is situationally just being smart." 

Dart was forced out of games on five occasions to get checked for a concussion from last preseason through Week 18 of his rookie campaign. One of those checks resulted in the signal-caller missing a pair of November games while he was in the concussion protocol. 

Later in the season, Dart defiantly said he was "going to play aggressive." He also insisted that star quarterbacks such as Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs "take hits, too." 

Dart sang somewhat of a different tune on Thursday. 

Jaxson Dart "hated" missing games as a rookie

"[Senior offensive assistant Greg Roman] talked about it today," Dart continued. "It's important for the quarterback to make sure how he's feeling one play that he's going to feel that same way the next play. And at the same time, just having the experience last year of sitting out two games, I hadn't done that in my career. So, I just hated that time of not being out there with my teammates. So obviously, I understand the most important thing is to be out there. So, you just grow and learn from things. And I think I'm going to do a good job at it this year for sure."

Harbaugh and Co. won't want to completely change the playing style that makes Dart such a valuable weapon. That said, everybody involved realizes that Dart can't make good use of his abilities if he is sidelined due to injuries.