The New York Giants are widely considered one of the NFL's most promising teams because they have young talent at premium positions. However, any optimism starts and ends with their electrifying rookie quarterback, Jaxson Dart.
Dart's health has been a major topic of conversation lately, and for good reason. The Giants are concerned after his fourth concussion evaluation (including preseason) cost him two contests. Those concerns were exacerbated in the team's 33-15 Monday Night Football loss to the New England Patriots.
New York saw Dart take another massive shot, this time courtesy of Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss. Kafka was asked about it following the game, and his comments have Giants fans mentally prepared for another injury to their promising signal-caller.
Mike Kafka doesn't make Giants fans feel any better about Jaxson Dart continuing to take hard hits
By the sound of it, Kafka seems to think there isn't much the Giants can do to protect Dart from himself. The former alluded to the notion that you can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink, raising valid concerns about the latter's safety:
"Listen, Jaxson's an aggressive football player. He's on the sideline -- he's trying to get himself out of bounds [and] takes the hit. He bounced up; he's a tough kid. Obviously don't want him to take any hits that are unnecessary, but he was working his way out of bounds."
To some extent, Kafka is right. Dart's relentless approach to the game is part of his dynamic skill set and among the reasons the Giants fell in love with him. But on the other hand, there's a fine line between physicality and recklessness.
Yes, Dart was attempting to give himself up, but he waited a step or two. There was an opportunity to have the play blown dead. Nevertheless, his competitive nature prompted him to fight for extra yardage, and that extra second resulted in a huge collision.
How can Dart be the franchise savior the G-Men need without being in the lineup? He was fortunate to live to see another down in Foxborough, though that won't always be the case. New York has learned this the hard way, yet Kafka is ostensibly failing to see the bigger picture.
No matter how bright the Giants' future may be, the present is bleak. They got blown out by the Patriots in their seventh straight loss and have won just five games since the start of 2024.