“He can’t save your job": Ryan Clark fires shots at Brian Daboll over Jaxson Dart repeatedly taking hits under the Giants HC

Ryan Clark hit out at New York Giants coach Brian Daboll after Jaxson Dart sustained an injury in the 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. The quarterback suffered a hit from C.J. Gardner-Johnson while rushing the ball, which led him to undergo concussion protocol.

This ignited a strong criticism of Daboll by Clark after the game. Since taking over the starting role, Dart has been deployed to run the ball way too many times, subjecting him to numerous hits. It was the second time in the last couple of weeks that the rookie quarterback had undergone in-game concussion protocol.

“So the same way we have these conversations about Jaden Daniels taking hits or Caleb Williams with the sacks last year or Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson repeatedly, we need to start having that conversation about Jackson Dart,” Ryan said. “Is Jackson Dart talented enough to save this coaching staff? Maybe. Is he talented enough to save this general manager? Maybe. But he has to be healthy. He doesn't have the physicality of a Cam Newton, the physicality of a Josh Allen, or he doesn't have the speed of a Jaden Daniels, or the speed of a Lamar Jackson. But he is a capable runner.

Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!

“But that's not who he's supposed to be. Dual threat doesn't mean single threat of being the number one rusher for your team. And today, we see him in concussion protocol. This could be a bad sign of things to come. Protect the franchise and protect the kid. Don't try to save everybody else's job by using him to run constantly.”

Jaxson Dart has rushed the ball 57 times across the nine games he's played this season. He entered the Sunday encounter as one of the quarterbacks with the most rushing attempts this season. While he's been effective with them, it has placed him under significant risk.

Brian Daboll on how Jaxson Dart was taken out of the game

After absorbing the hit, Jaxson Dart was slow to rise but managed to walk to the sideline on his own. Brian Daboll clarified in his postgame press conference that he and the coaching staff spotted something off about Dart, which prompted the medical team to step in immediately.

“As he was going back out on the field, just didn't seem right,” Daboll said. “So, we called the trainers over and said, ‘Let's get him out and make sure he gets looked at.’ Went in and got looked at and ended up being evaluated for a concussion.”

Jaxson Dart has scored five rushing touchdowns this season, which ranks him second among quarterbacks. However, the rushing duty has seen him suffer 19 sacks and 15 quarterback hits. Should he fail to recover, the Giants will turn to Russell Wilson against the Green Bay Packers.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf