The New York Giants are staring down an absolute disaster scenario after learning the extent of Jaxson Dart’s knee injury. The second-year quarterback will miss the rest of the season and require surgery to repair his MCL and meniscus.
Jameis Winston will presumably take over as the starter, which is exactly why Big Blue signed the former No. 1 overall pick last offseason.
That doesn’t mean general manager Joe Schoen should sit on his hands and do nothing. New York is 1-1 with 15 games left to play, and there are moves the front office can make to improve the roster around Winston without sacrificing what the Giants are building for when Dart comes back.
4 moves Giants can make to keep the season from slipping away
Swing a trade with the Titans for RB Tyjae Spears
The Giants have very clearly established what they want their running game to look like under Harbaugh. They want big dudes running behind even bigger dudes and generally making defenders regret trying to make a tackle.
I’m all for it. But there’s also such a thing as having too much of the same thing.
Cam Skattebo and Najee Harris give New York plenty of power, and Harbs has made it pretty clear through two games that he doesn’t trust Tyrone Tracy Jr. to touch the football. Devin “Motor” Singletary gives them a little more juice, though Tyjae Spears would bring another level of explosiveness and pass-catching ability to the room.
Spears currently sits behind Tony Pollard in Tennessee. Pollard has more than doubled him in touches through two games, 21-10, while Spears has caught four passes for 41 yards. Pollard doesn’t have a reception. That’s the type of player a backup QB could use.
Taking Dart out of the offense puts even more pressure on OC Matt Nagy to manufacture easy looks and keep defenses from sitting on the run and stacking the box. Spears gives him something the backfield doesn’t have enough of right now: a legitimate change of pace who can become a big factor in the passing game.
Maybe there’s even a deal to be made involving Tracy. If Harbaugh really has no interest in giving him snaps, sending him to Tennessee for Spears would give both teams a different look in the backfield. The Titans would also be getting a running back their offensive coordinator already knows pretty well from his time in New York.
And I’m sure Brian Daboll would love nothing more than to help his old employer out. What a thoughtful guy.
Don't throw away a draft pick on a veteran
Here’s where the panic button needs to remain behind the glass.
There aren’t many reliable quarterbacks sitting around the free agent pile in late September, but that doesn’t mean Schoen should start treating draft picks like Oprah treats cars -- you get a pick. And you get a pick...
Gardner Minshew, Tanner McKee, Mason Rudolph, Tua Tagovailoa, and even J.J. McCarthy are among the quarterbacks New York could theoretically inquire about at varying price points. I’m sure the next several days will produce approximately 400 more names.
Would some of them make for interesting articles? You bet. But practically speaking, it’s a no for me, dawg.
Winston is here for this exact situation. The former No. 1 overall pick had an ugly night after replacing Dart against the Rams, completing 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and an interception. Now he gets an actual week of preparation as the starter instead of being thrown into a game seven plays into the first quarter.
More importantly, the Giants only have five selections remaining in the 2027 Draft. If Dart is still the franchise quarterback when he returns, those picks are better used to find players who can help him for years rather than renting another quarterback for a few months.
Poach Joe Milton III off the Cowboys P-Squad
Instead of sending a draft pick somewhere for another team’s QB, the G-Men can stroll over to the Cowboys’ practice squad and pluck Joe Milton III for free.
Because Milton is on the P- Squad, New York can sign him directly to its active roster without sending the Cowboys anything in return. The 26-year-old would then have to remain on Big Blue’s 53-man roster for at least three weeks, but there's a roster spot open with Dart going to season-ending IR and so he'd essentially become Jameis' backup.
There’s already an obvious opening. The Giants can elevate Jake Haener from their own P-Squad and call it a day, or they can use Dart’s absence to take a swing on an arm with considerably more physical upside.
Milton is 6-foot-5, 236 pounds, with an absolute cannon attached to his right shoulder. He’s appeared in five games over his first two NFL seasons, throwing for 424 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 69.8 percent of his passes.
He also had himself a preseason this summer, completing 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Dart could be gone for months, and the Giants need another quarterback on the active roster. Why not use the opening to see if Nagy and Harbs can do something with Milton?
Pull off blockbuster 3-team trade with Patriots and Steelers for Joey Porter Jr.
Alright, I've been responsible long enough.
Three-team trades rarely happen in the NFL. Salary matching isn’t a thing like it is in the NBA, so there usually isn’t much reason to drag another front office into negotiations. Getting two teams to agree on trade value is hard enough. Getting three to do it is how general managers end up throwing their phones through drywall.
But I’m a think-outside-the-box kinda guy, so humor me.
The Giants have added an explosive back in Spears. They resisted throwing draft capital at a stopgap quarterback. They stole Milton from Dallas and gave Nagy an intriguing developmental option behind Famous Jameis. Now it’s time to use those assets on something that could actually help the Giants now and beyond 2026:
Big Blue could use a lockdown outside corner right now, and the long-term outlook makes the need even more obvious. Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II are headed toward free agency after the season. Paulson Adebo could become a cap casualty, with New York able to save roughly $14 million by moving on. Dru Phillips continues to struggle in the slot.
That leaves rookie Colton Hood as arguably the easiest corner to pencil into the 2027 picture, and he’s played two NFL games.
Porter changes that immediately.
Pittsburgh gets a collection of draft picks instead of dealing with stalled extension talks. New England gets a pass rusher in Thibodeaux. The Giants turn Thibodeaux and two picks into a corner they can immediately plug into the defense and potentially extend for the long haul.
And yes, I know I just spent an entire section telling Schoen to protect his five remaining 2027 picks before sending one away approximately four paragraphs later, but there’s a difference.
I’m not giving up one of those picks to rent a QB for a couple of months. Porter would address one of the biggest weaknesses on the current roster while giving the Giants a potential cornerstone in the secondary for years to come.
Losing Dart stinks, and it completely changes what this team can realistically expect this year. It doesn’t mean the other 52 guys should pack up their lockers and wait for next year.
Give Winston another weapon. Take a free swing on Milton. Keep the panic trades away from the quarterback room. If you’re going to spend draft capital, spend it on someone who can help Dart when he’s back, too.
The Giants can’t undo what happened Monday night, but they can make sure their season doesn't end with it.
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