Josh Alper ,
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Jaxson Dart returned to the Giants lineup on Monday night and it didn’t take long for the quarterback to make a play that reignited the debate about whether he’s taking enough care to avoid injuries.
Dart scrambled around the right side of the line on a second down on the team’s second offensive possession and tried to pick up a few extra yards rather than step out of bounds without taking a hit. Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss blasted him short of the first down, which led to a response from tight end Theo Johnson that drew a flag and pushed the Giants back 15 yards before a punt.
Dart missed the last two games with a concussion and was checked for concussions in three other games, which led the team to speak to him about the need to exercise more caution . Dart said last week that he understands the need to be available for his team, but said after Monday’s 33-15 loss that he is “going to keep playing aggressive” as he has since he was in high school.
“I’m going to get hit if I’m in the pocket or outside the pocket,” Dart said, via a transcript from the team. “I feel like I played this way my whole entire life. It shouldn’t be any shocker to anybody if you followed along with my career. We’re not playing soccer out here. You’re going to get hit. Things happen. It’s just part of the game.”
Giants head coach Mike Kafka said that that Dart was working to get out of bounds on that play and that the Giants “obviously don’t want him to take any hits that are unnecessary.” Given that Dart passed on the chance to get out of bounds, the hit on Monday fell into that category and the answers would probably sound a bit different if the first-round pick was looking at another absence from the lineup.
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