Are Giants entering a Jets-like Quarterback quagmire?

The New York Giants were dealt a tough blow two weeks into the 2026 NFL season when second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart injured his left knee against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Dart, despite early optimism, needs surgery and is now out for the rest of the regular season.

Backup QB and former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston will start under center in the interim.

Thus continues Big Blue’s effort to find two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning’s successor. It’s been nearly 15 years since the Giants last won a Super Bowl, and Manning retired in 2019. The Giants haven’t had a steady hand at QB since.

The quarterback turnover is almost Jets-like, honestly. We wrote last season how Gang Green hasn’t had anything close to resembling an actual franchise quarterback since Chad Pennington. Even with Mark Sanchez’s brief and successful tenure, he was practically a supplement to the running game. The Jets have been QB-starved ever since, especially after royally dropping the ball with reigning Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold.

The post-Eli Giants, though? Not much better in less than ten years. Daniel Jones, now with the Colts, stuck around for five years after being drafted and had some potential. Yet, the deadly trio of injuries, inconsistency, and poor coaching kept him from finding success. Thus, the Giants drew some starts from the Island of Journeymen and Retreads.

Colt McCoy. Mike Glennon. Current Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb. Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito, the shell once resembling Russell Wilson, plus Winston and a few names one might forget inside of two minutes.

Now, to be fair, it’s way too soon to jump to this conclusion. Dart is 23 years old and, while mobile, not nearly as reliant on his legs as veterans and MVP-winners Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. His arm is strong. His success in the NFL doesn’t hinge on his speed.

Even so, this isn’t how the Giants expected to kick off the John Harbaugh Era. A Winston injury would mean handing the ball to undersized veteran third-stringer Jake Haener next. Veteran insider Mike Garafolo even suggested former 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo could enter the picture. Brandon Allen’s name has also been tossed around. We’ll be on the lookout for quarterback offerings from New York sports betting apps.

This isn’t an issue unique to the Giants, nor the Jets. More often than not, teams struggle to immediately replace a successful franchise quarterback. We quickly forget more than a decade passed between Phil Simms’ retirement in 1993 and the Giants trading for Eli Manning on Draft Day 2004.

But the fans are getting restless after years upon years of losing and mediocrity. Here’s hoping Jaxson Dart recovers well and returns in top form.