Giants sign insurance QB after season-ending Jaxson Dart injury

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Giants sign insurance QB after season-ending Jaxson Dart injury

By Paul White | Last updated Sep 26, 2026 9:10 PM ET

A season that was once so full of hope for the New York Giants has now become a guessing game. Quarterback Jaxson Dart hurt his knee on “Monday Night Football” vs. the Los Angeles Rams, and while the initial reporting was encouraging, the injury turned out to be one that ended his season.

The second-year signal-caller showed a lot of promise in a Week 1 primetime victory over the Dallas Cowboys, and people began fantasizing about the heights he and the Giants could reach. But now Dart’s season is over, and the team needs to pivot and evaluate whether it can contend for a playoff spot or more.

New York is oozing with talent on both sides of the ball, and solid quarterback play under a floor-raising head coach like John Harbaugh could keep the team competitive. Jameis Winston is likely to handle the starting duties in the interim, but with his struggles on Monday night and with Dart missing the rest of the season, the Giants need some insurance at the position.

Giants sign quarterback after Jaxson Dart injury, Jameis Winston’s poor play

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that they signed quarterback Jake Haener to the active roster on Saturday.

The #Giants signed QB Jake Haener to the active roster and he’ll be the backup on Sunday.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 26, 2026

Winston has been a good backup in the past, but he wasn’t good enough against the Rams, completing 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and one interception. It’s unlikely that New York will accept that level of quarterback play for the rest of the season, especially if it feels like the roster is good enough to compete.

This means that Haener needs to stay ready because his opportunity could be coming any moment. This is a franchise starving for success, and it looked like the Giants might finally achieve it before Dart went down. If they are good enough to compete, then Harbaugh will have no problem making a quarterback change.

After all, he was on the hot seat with the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 after three straight seasons without a playoff appearance. The team had a 4-5 record at the bye week, and Harbaugh benched Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco for a rookie Lamar Jackson.

Baltimore proceeded to win six of its last eight games and sneak into the playoffs. Jackson won’t be walking through the door in New York, but Harbaugh will make the best football decision. If Winston’s play doesn’t improve quickly, then Haener could take over the reins in New York if the team doesn’t make another quarterback move.

Paul White

Paul White is a contract writer from Philadelphia who attended Penn State University. He has contributed hundreds of stories about the NFL and NBA over the years and now brings that experience over to Yardbarker. He is a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan looking to bring the same passion from his city to sports media.

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