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Giants to start QB Jaxson Dart, bench Russell Wilson, per reports
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- Giants to start QB Jaxson Dart, bench Russell Wilson, per reports
The New York Giants spent the spring and the summer affirming their commitment to Russell Wilson as the team's starting quarterback. Come fall, that vow lasted all of three games.
Rookie Jaxson Dart will replace Wilson as the starter, beginning with Sunday's contest against the Los Angeles Chargers , according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
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Giants coach Brian Daboll first opened the door for the switch on Monday, saying the team was "evaluating everything" after it dropped to 0-3 with a 22-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs . Upon throwing his second interception before halftime, Wilson was met with chants of "we want Dart" from the MetLife Stadium faithful.
Unlike in the aftermath of the season-opening 21-6 loss to the Washington Commanders , however, Daboll didn't restate his intent to keep the veteran as his starter when pressed about his plans.
Asked whether Wilson would maintain his starting job, Daboll said Monday, "We're working through all personnel decisions and we'll do that over the next few days."
Dart has mixed in for six snaps over the last two games but has yet to throw a pass. His mere entrance into the lineup, however, was enough to stir Giants fans, who cheered his arrivals and booed whenever Wilson returned.
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"The plays we had him in, that's what we thought was best for him, and we'll continue to work with him and get him ready," Daboll said after Sunday's loss to the Chiefs when asked about the rookie's usage. "Jaxson's progressing well. We'll continue to work with him. I've got a lot of confidence in him, his development that he's had, and that's what we'll continue to do."
After New York traded up to take Dart with the No. 25 pick in April's NFL draft, Daboll tried to extinguish any notion of a quarterback controversy by immediately declaring Wilson his starter. He maintained that stance throughout training camp and preseason, even though the Mississippi product fared well in his exhibition work.
But with the franchise staring down the possibility of its first 0-4 start since 2017, Daboll elected to make the change.
The switch is the latest about-face behind center for the franchise, which is less than a full year removed from the demotion and subsequent release of six-year starter Daniel Jones . Daboll struck a similar tone in the lead-up to that switch, which put Tommy DeVito into the starting lineup and elevated Drew Lock to backup. The Giants dropped six of seven games after the move, dropping to a 3-14 mark that set a franchise record for most losses in a season.
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Giants co-owner John Mara retained Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen in January but put both on notice, saying the organization had to find "our quarterback of the future, whether that be via the draft or (acquiring) a veteran."
That led the Giants to evaluate several potential solutions early in the offseason, including a failed attempt to trade for the Los Angeles Rams ' Matthew Stafford and a brief dalliance with Aaron Rodgers . Eventually, however, the team moved ahead by signing Wilson to a one-year, $10.5 million contract in late March. Jameis Winston also agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal as a presumed backup.
But while Wilson's 450-yard, three-touchdown performance in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 bought himself a one-week reprieve from the questioning regarding his standing, the signal-caller again came under fire after his "Sunday Night Football" outing. When the Giants had a first-and-goal with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Wilson launched the ball out of the back of the end zone on three plays.
"I'd be booing too, to be honest with you, in terms of not being good enough, not scoring, not finishing," Daboll said. "I understand that. That's the nature of it. We've got to do better."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Giants' Jaxson Dart to start at QB, Russell Wilson benched
