Voices both inside and outside the Giants organization have spoken with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart about being smart and taking fewer chances as a runner. Dart, who returned to play in Monday night's loss to the Patriots after missing two games with a concussion, has shown a reluctance to slide and avoid contact from opposing defenders when scrambling with the ball.
And Dart did so again during the first quarter of the Giants' 33-15 loss to New England, when, after scrambling out of the pocket in an attempt to get 13 yards for a first down, he took a big hit from Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss.
And immediately after the hit, one voice outside the organization—Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden—reiterated advice he had given Dart months ago.
“Please get out of bounds,” Gruden wrote in a tweet.
Please get out of bounds. pic.twitter.com/v7WOVL4WmR
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) December 2, 2025
Gruden once told Dart his play style is “dangerous”
As part of a series he hosts every year called Gruden's QB Class, the NFL-coach-turned-Barstool-Sports-content-creator met with Dart and, in between praise of his positive traits, offered him a pointed critique of his play style.
Evel Knievel Dart promises to start sliding more and I am thrilled!
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) August 22, 2025
Protect your head and protect your right shoulder and you’ll be a force in this league, Jaxson! pic.twitter.com/EaVzqFV04y
“I love that,“ Gruden said of Dart's rugged mentality. “I think it's impressive. But I want you to change your playing style. I think it's reckless. I think it's careless. And I think it's dangerous. You're the only guy that can't play with a sore right shoulder. And we can't play without you... Why won't you go out of bounds? Why won't you get down? It's crazy! It's f------ crazy! And you're gonna be in that concussion protocol tent and I'm gonna be holding the gameplan going, 'Where the hell is Dart at?!' ”
Dart this season has fully demonstrated all the traits that implored the Giants to trade up for him in the first round of the 2025 draft. But he's also, as Gruden warned, been in the medical tent more than the Giants would like, as he was examined for a concussion during the team's Week 6 win over Philadelphia before returning, then forced to exit the Week 10 loss to Chicago after suffering a concussion, which forced him to miss two games.
And while Dart had admitted some of the college football plays where he did little to avoid contact were “not smart” during his conversation with Gruden, on Monday night he didn't appear like a player who was open to constructive criticism in that area of his game.
“I understand the question, but this is football,” Dart said after the game. “I’m going to get hit if I’m in the pocket or outside the pocket. I’ve played this way my whole entire life. It shouldn’t be any shocker to anybody if you’ve 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.”
Dart would do well to heed the words of Gruden, as well as those of his opposing coach on Monday night, the Patriots' Mike Vrabel.
“It’s a weekly reminder to the quarterback, our quarterback, I wouldn’t get too cute over there by the sidelines,” Vrabel said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Super Bowl-Winning Coach Repeated Direct Advice to Jaxson Dart After Another Big Hit.
