Jaxson Dart: Being more available for the team is on forefront of my mind

Jaxson Dart will be back at quarterback for the Giants for Monday night's game against the Patriots and Dart shared some of what he learned while missing two games with a concussion during a Friday press conference.

Dart was ruled out during the Giants' Week 10 loss to the Bears and he spent time in the sideline medical tent in three other games for concussion checks before being cleared to return. Dart said on Friday that he felt some of those checks were unwarranted because he had not taken hits to the head and that he feels he's "getting better" at handling the speed of the NFL game.

There were still reports this month indicated that the Giants are urging Dart to take greater caution when he runs and Dart said staying on the field is something he'll be prioritizing in his return to action.

"When I look back at the game, there's not a hit where I'm like, dang, I shouldn't have taken that hit, to be honest," Dart said, via a transcript from the team. "I felt like I was making smart decisions. I didn't take really any unnecessary hits. That was just a situation where you kind of lose control of your body when you fumble it and you're not really bracing for the ground. But obviously, moving forward, now I've got to be more available for this team, so, that's obviously on the forefront of my mind going forward."

Dart's play in his rookie season has provided some reason for hope about the Giants' future despite their dismal present, but it will be harder to keep that faith if Dart isn't able to play every week so signs of improvement on that front will be as important as anything on the scoreboard in the final five games of the year.