John Harbaugh confirmed Jaxson Dart will need surgery to repair his knee injury, but the Giants coach couched how long the quarterback might be out.
“Regular season at least, I would say,” Harbaugh said, via video from SNY Giants.
Asked a follow-up question about whether he was leaving open the possibility of Dart returning for the postseason, if the Giants qualify, Harbaugh said: “I think I said it. I said it. Regular season. Other than that, how do you know? There’s no way to know. It depends on the recovery. You can’t pinpoint it exactly.”
Dart’s absence, though, decreases the Giants’ chances of getting to the playoffs.
Dart, who was injured in Monday night’s loss to the Rams, will undergo surgery to repair damage to the MCL and the meniscus in his left knee, according to multiple reports.
The Giants initially believed Dart’s injury was not season-ending, but the MRI delivered the bad news, and he will undergo surgery soon.
“It’s a big loss for sure. It’s your starting quarterback,” Harbaugh said.
Dart was in team meetings on Wednesday, while trying to come to terms with the fact that his third season is over after only two games.
“I think he’s determined,” Harbaugh said. “He’s bummed. It’s hard. The season’s not over, but it is for him. We kind of talked about that, too. That was part of it. There’s a certain mourning that takes place.”
Jameis Winston will take over as the starter, though the Giants are in the market for a veteran quarterback to join Jake Haener behind Winston. Harbaugh said his message to the team was “it’s not a one-game man.”
“We need to be the best Giants we can be,” he said.