Jaxson Dart did not begin his freshman season at USC as the starter but ended up starting six games. That’s the last time — and the only time — Dart has served as the backup.
He will begin his NFL career as the third-string quarterback behind Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston.
“I haven’t really sat before,” Dart said Friday, via Ed Valentine of bigblueview.com. “I’m a competitor, so I’m going to come to work each and every day and do my best to make everybody around me better. I understand what the situation is, but for me and myself, I care about winning. There’s nothing fun about losing.
“So it doesn’t matter where you’re at on the depth chart, if you’re playing this much or not playing this much, if you’re losing, it sucks. So for me, I want to make the team better, and that’s my focus.”
Dart has a long way to go and a lot to learn, but he played a lot of college football, and he’s determined to get better daily. That began Friday on the first day of the team’s rookie minicamp.
“This is first practice, so there’s going to be mistakes,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “You learn from the mistakes. You teach off of them, come back the next day, you build off of it. There’ll be some good things. There’ll be some bad things. It’s the first day of camp. He hasn’t thrown with any of these guys. He’s calling plays in our system for the first time but same as all the other positions. They have a lot to learn.”
The Bills claimed defensive lineman Casey Rogers off waivers on Friday, the team announced.
The Giants waived Rogers on Thursday.
Rogers signed with the Giants in 2024 as undrafted free agent.
He appeared in two games for the team as a rookie, seeing action on 33 defensive snaps and nine on special teams. He had no stats.
Rogers spent five years in college playing for Nebraska (2019-21) and Oregon (2022-23). In two seasons in Eugene, Rogers played 27 games and recorded 56 tackles with 1.5 sacks and seven tackles for a loss.
Rogers originally committed to Syracuse to play lacrosse but decommitted and decided to attend Nebraska to play football.
Giants first-round pick Abdul Carter’s extended search for his first NFL number finally ended on Friday.
Carter was given No. 51 and put it on for the first practice of the team’s rookie minicamp. The edge rusher wore No. 11 at Penn State, but that number has been retired for former Giants quarterback Phil Simms and Carter’s bid to have it unretired was rebuffed. That was also the case for the No. 56 that Lawrence Taylor made famous during his time with the NFC East club.
On Friday, Carter said at a press conference that the number is “what we had available” and “it’s gonna have to grow on me a little bit.” He said he has no plans to look for a new one before the start of his rookie season.
“It’s pretty much set. I’m just happy to be out here playing football. That’s all I’m worried about,” Carter said.
Carter’s first two choices are already part of Giants lore. If all goes well, No. 51 will have a similar place when Carter’s career has come to an end.
The Giants have started signing their draft picks.
The team announced that fifth-round offensive lineman Marcus Mbow, seventh-round tight end Thomas Fidone, and seventh-round cornerback Korie Black. Four other picks, including first-rounders Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart, remain unsigned.
In addition to those moves, the Giants announced that they’ve signed 13 undrafted free agents. Elon running back Rushawn Baker, Gardner-Webb wide receiver Jordan Bly, Louisiana wide receiver Dalen Cambre, Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins, Wisconsin cornerback RJ Delancy III, Virginia Tech wide receiver Da’Quan Felton, Oklahoma linebacker Trace Ford, South Carolina cornerback O’Donnell Fortune, Idaho safety Tommy McCormick, Michigan safety Makari Paige, Oregon State tight end Jermaine Terry II, Ole Miss wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr., and Youngstown State offensive lineman Jaison Williams make up that group.
The Giants also announced that they have released wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
Giants first-round draft pick Abdul Carter wanted to wear Lawrence Taylor’s retired No. 56, but he was turned down. Then he wanted to wear Phil Simms’ retired No. 11, and was turned down again. Now he’s settled for a jersey number that starts with a 5 and ends with a 1.
Carter will wear the No. 51 jersey as rookie minicamp opens today, the team announced.
Jersey numbers are subject to change at this point, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Carter plans to keep the 51 jersey number going forward.
The Giants also announced that rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart will wear No. 6. Dart wore No. 2 in college, both at USC and at Ole Miss, but that number was already taken by cornerback Deonte Banks last month. Banks previously wore No. 3 but switched to No. 2 when Russell Wilson arrived and requested to wear the No. 3 jersey he’s worn throughout his NFL career.
The Giants also announced that rookie Darius Alexander will wear 91, Cam Skatebo will wear 44, Marcus Mbow will wear 71, Thomas Fidone will wear 86 and Korie Black will wear 25.
