Sources: Giants QB Jaxson Dart believed to have sprained MCL

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is believed to have suffered a sprained MCL during Monday night’s 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, after taking a hard hit on his left knee during the Giants’ first series.

X-rays were negative, according to sources, and Dart will undergo an MRI on Tuesday. He is expected to miss some time.

“We’ll know more [Tuesday],” coach John Harbaugh said. Regarding the reported sprained MCL, he said, “That’s in the neighborhood of it. We’ll get an MRI [Tuesday] and have a real good feel for it.”

Dart, who was unavailable for comment after the game, was hurt while being pressured on third-and-8. Rams linebacker Byron Young hit Dart from the quarterback’s right side, sending him into linebacker Josaiah Stewart as he tried to tackle Dart, who landed hard on the turf.

The second-year quarterback immediately grabbed at his left knee and went to the blue medical tent, where he was examined. He came out and walked with a limp to the locker room.

The team initially said he was questionable to return because of a knee injury but officially ruled him out early in the third quarter.

“He’s going to be OK,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen told ESPN’s Laura Rutledge at halftime.

Sources told ESPN that Dart tried to reenter the game in the first half, but the Giants wouldn’t let him. He returned to the New York sideline in street clothes.

“We talked, and we have a long season,” running back Cam Skattebo said. “So, if he feels like he can go play, then let him go play. If it’s better for him to sit out and take a little rest to be healthy and be ready to go and be himself 100%, then I think that is the right decision.

“So the doctors looked at him and said, ‘Hey, you should probably sit out there,’ and that was the decision they made. He obviously probably wasn’t OK with it. He came out [to the sideline], gave us some energy and did what he had to do.”

Early indications are that it isn’t expected to be a long-term or season-ending injury.

“There’s no question. The fact that it’s not that outcome that you’re talking about, the devastating outcome, is really good news,” Harbaugh said.

The same applies to injuries to wide receiver Malik Nabers (shoulder), outside linebacker Brian Burns (ankle) and left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin), who are all not expected to miss significant time.

Jameis Winston replaced Dart and went 11-of-27 for 111 yards with an interception. The Giants’ offense barely resembled what it looked like during the previous week in a win over the Dallas Cowboys.

“Obviously, it sucks losing your starter because everything you do revolves around the guy that is going to play the game,” Skattebo said. “We have full trust in Jameis when he came in the game. We just couldn’t execute.”

Dart wasn’t the only Giants star who left the game in the first half. Nabers was hurt trying to make a catch in the second quarter. Cornerback Trent McDuffie knocked down a pass intended for Nabers, who immediately grabbed at his right shoulder. Nabers went to the sideline and sank to the ground, where he was attended to by trainers for several minutes.

The third-year wide receiver, who came back last week from a torn ACL, then went to the bench and put a towel over his head. He was initially listed as questionable but returned to the field later in the second quarter, finishing with one catch for 1 yard on four targets.

He said afterward that he popped his shoulder back in and would have an X-ray to determine the full extent of the injury.

“My shoulder is OK,” Nabers said. “I’m going to get an X-ray on it to see what is going on. But when I was out there, we had just lost [Dart], so I didn’t want to give the team another loss. So I went back in. Just tried to see what I can do.”

The injuries didn’t stop there.

Thomas went to the medical tent in the fourth quarter because of a groin injury and didn’t return. And Burns suffered what Harbaugh said was a low ankle sprain in the closing minutes of the game and couldn’t put weight on his leg as he left the field. Burns left the stadium in a boot and took a golf cart to the team buses.

“It eased my mind to know it wasn’t anything serious,” Burns said. “I’ve dealt with this. It depends on how fast you get the swelling and inflammation down. So I’m going to do everything possible to get this as tamed as I can.”

Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.