NEW YORK — Jameis Winston is listed as the backup quarterback and Jaxson Dart the third-stringer on the New York Giants’ first unofficial depth chart released Tuesday ahead of their preseason opener this weekend.
Winston, a 31-year-old veteran, and Dart, the rookie first-round pick and perceived QB of the future, have been alternating snaps with the second- and third-team offensive groups throughout training camp after Russell Wilson with the projected starters.
Coach Brian Daboll early this week has so far declined to reveal his plan as to who might play in the first exhibition game Saturday at the Buffalo Bills.
“We’re focused on us right now,” Daboll said Tuesday on a video call with reporters. “We’ll get to Buffalo later in the week. We’ll talk about it as a coaching staff and do what we think is best.”
Injuries are part of the picture. Rookies Cam Skattebo and Beaux Collins have been sidelined from full team practice drills, and standout left tackle Andrew Thomas remains on the physically unable to perform list as he works his way back from October surgery for a Lisfranc injury in his right foot.
Daboll said the thinking varies for every NFL team and does not believe there’s one correct formula.
“Is it a series, is it two series? Is it a half?” Daboll said. “There’s no substitute for playing the game. You have to tackle. You don’t do a whole lot (in practice). Some people do some live tackling, but it’s not much. There’s no substitute for a quarterback when he knows he can get hit. There’s no substitute for an offensive guard cleaning the pocket or being very physical in the run game in gang tackling. That’s the game of football.”
