The New York Giants are in the market for a new quarterback. Monday night's 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams likely shook their organization to their core; not because of the score but because the loss of quarterback Jaxson Dart. The second-year pro, drafted No. 25 overall in 2025 was lost for the year when sandwiched between two defenders on the Giants' first series of the game.
Dart will have surgery to repair his MCL, PCL and meniscus and is done for the season. The Giants, despite a poor initial showing in relief of Dart, believe strongly as an organization in Jameis Winston. Perhaps they didn't believe in him as a 15-game solution and more as a mentor archetype for Dart. Skillwise, the two couldn't be more polar opposite and it's for this
reason that the Dallas Cowboys should be sitting up on their toes.
While head coach John Harbaugh was in charge of the Baltimore Ravens, he religiously kept a backup quarterback with a similar skillset to dual-threat starter and MVP Lamar Jackson. Dart isn't Jackson, but his game does model the Ravens' star in his ability to run. The Giants have designed QB runs to suit Dart in their offense. All of that goes out the window if they have a statue like Winston under center.
And that's where the Cowboys need to show care. They just so happen to have a young player who could easily slide into the role in Joe Milton.
Milton starred in the Cowboys' first two preseason games, but did not show enough for Dallas to name him Dak Prescott's backup. That job went to Sam Howell, and when he learned he wasn't going to be on the team's 53-man roster, much less be QB2, Milton went about seeing what else was out there. He eventually agreed to join the Cowboys' practice squad, but it would be foolish to think Milton wouldn't like the opportunity to be on on a team's actual roster.
The pay discrepancy is huge, as are the opportunities.
Giants head coach John Harbaugh has outright stated they are considering adding outside options.
The #Giants are in the market for adding a QB and John Harbaugh said, “All options are open.” Meanwhile, Jameis Winston is the new QB1. https://t.co/gn8WsUMqpQ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2026
A smart coach, which Harbaugh has been accused of being on more than one occasion, could add Milton as the new QB2 as preparation for if Winston can't perform better than he did Monday night.
If they look Milton's way, the Cowboys can't do much to block the move. They'd see zero compensation, either. Players on the practice squad are essentially free agents, able to sign with any of the 32 clubs. The only mandate is a team that signs them must commit to at least three weeks.
The original club can sometimes delay the move, if they catch wind of the defection and elevate the player for a week, but the following week the player will revert to the practice squad and open the window to sign elsewhere once again.
The only way for Dallas to flat out stop any pursuit would be to add Milton to their own 53-man roster now.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Are Giants coming to poach Cowboys' preseason darling? Can they stop it?
