The hits New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart took as a rookie might still be haunting him, but not necessarily because any physical effects have lingered.
After Dart's latest trip to the blue medical tent for a sideline evaluation on Saturday, Aug. 15, he said he was "puzzled" by how frequently he ends up there. Head coach John Harbaugh told reporters in a virtual press conference on Aug. 16 that he believes Dart's "history" of concussion checks is the reason he ends up in the medical tent so often.
"I'm sure it's frustrating," Harbaugh said. "I guess he maybe got the wind knocked out of him a little bit, but I’m not going to be critical of the league or whoever’s doing that upstairs. They do their job and they want to protect the players.
"I'm sure history or whatever they might remember, maybe that comes into play. I don't know if there is a similar situation, another quarterback would have been called in the tent or not. There's no way for us to know that. So, nothing we can worry about."
Dart was flagged five times for medical evaluations in his rookie season last year. He was diagnosed with a concussion in a Week 10 game against the Chicago Bears and ended up missing two games.
More recently, the Giants' second-year quarterback was called into the blue medical tent after taking a hard hit on a sack during New York's preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 15. Safety Jay Ward ran past running back Tyrone Tracy's block attempt and laid out Dart with a big hit in the backfield. After a brief evaluation in the tent, Dart returned to the game and threw a touchdown pass.
"I really respect the rules, and the thought behind, you know, the NFL has of keeping players healthy and reviewing things," Dart said after the game. "But at the same time, I'm still puzzled by just feeling like every time that I get hit, you know, I just find my way in there."
New York reportedly has put an extra emphasis on having Dart protect himself from big hits during training camp practices this summer. According to multiple reports from training camp practices, teammates and coaches celebrated when Dart slid or ran out of bounds instead of taking on hits as a rusher.
But in the Giants' first preseason game, the big hit he took was mostly out of his control. The protection broke down in front of Dart, and Harbaugh expressed his frustration at the miscue that led to sack.
"We'll just try to do a better job of protecting him," he said on Aug. 16. "There's no way he should have been hit there. I mean, it just shouldn't have happened. That was a basic protection. Should have been protected and we expect in that situation to be protected in the future."
The Giants play their second preseason game on Saturday, Aug. 22, against the Miami Dolphins. New York has not yet announced whether it will play its starters in the second game as well.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Harbaugh frustrated by hit that led to Jaxson Dart concussion check
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