Giants fined $315,000 for interfering with Jaxson Dart concussion exam

The Giants were fined $200,000, coach Brian Daboll $100,000 and rookie running back Cam Skattebo $15,000 on Friday for violating the league’s protocols and conduct detrimental to the league while quarterback Jaxson Dart was being evaluated for a concussion on the sideline of the Oct. 9 game against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium.

In a joint statement from the NFL and NFLPA, which together conducted the investigation, “the team medical staff and unaffiliated medical providers properly followed all of the steps required by the collectively bargained and administered concussion protocol” and that Daboll’s and Scattebo’s actions “had no actual impact on the exam or the care that Mr. Dart received.”

However, the findings also concluded that Daboll’s and Scattebo’s conduct created “the perception that they were interfering with Dart’s exam” and “was inconsistent with and demonstrated a disregard for the concussion protocol’s requirements and therefore constituted a violation.”

In the locker room on Friday, Skattebo said he had no comment on the fine. “I’m just glad Jaxson is healthy,” he said.

Dart was injured during a third-quarter play against the Eagles and came off the field for the evaluation. He was taken to the blue medical tent on the Giants’ sideline with medical staff. Both Daboll and Skattebo separately attempted to enter the tent and were turned away. Daboll also was seen yelling at the team physician. Daboll later said he was trying to ascertain how long the evaluation would take.

According to the statement on Friday, when a concussion protocol is triggered, all game-day evaluations must take place either in the sideline blue medical tent or in the locker room to ensure that the player receives a thorough examination without distraction. The concussion protocol states that “only medical personnel deemed essential to the care of the athlete may be present for the tent and/or locker room evaluation. This includes the team physician best qualified to evaluate concussion, the club athletic trainer, and the sideline unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant.” No other individuals are permitted in the tent or locker room during an evaluation.

“I just stuck my head in to see how our quarterback was doing,” Daboll said the day after the incident. “Just asked him how you’re doing. In no way would I want a player to come back out there that wasn’t ready to play. I think I have great respect for that process .  .  . Health and safety is important to us, it’s important to me.”

Here were the events of the Thursday night game that resulted in today’s fines for the Giants: pic.twitter.com/fGxj39dku0

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 24, 2025

Dart wound up missing one play, an incomplete pass thrown by backup Russell Wilson, before the Giants punted. Dart was cleared and returned to the game in time for the Giants’ next possession.

The statement from the league and union also noted that the Giants undertook “immediate remedial steps to prevent any similar violation in the future, including by cooperating fully with the joint review, conducting additional training with club staff and players about proper use of the medical tent and taking additional steps to ensure that only permitted individuals are able to enter the medical tent during a concussion evaluation.”

Notes & quotes: The Giants likely will be without two of their four starters in the secondary Sunday after listing cornerback Paulson Adebo (knee) as out and safety Jevon Holland (knee) as doubtful. Holland did not participate in practices at all this week. The Giants played much of the second half of last week’s game against Denver without those two key players and allowed 33 points in the fourth quarter in one of the worst collapses in NFL history. Also out for the Giants is defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (neck). Linebacker Brian Burns (hip), who leads the NFL with 9.0 sacks, returned to practice Friday and is listed as questionable. Kicker Graham Gano (groin) and defensive lineman D.J. Davidson (ankle) also are questionable .  .  . For the Eagles, WR A.J. Brown, coming off his best game of the season, is out with a hamstring injury.