ALLEN PARK — The [Detroit Lions](https://www.detroitnews.com/sports/lions/) received some clarity Friday after New York Giants interim coach Mike Kafka ruled out rookie Jaxson Dart for Sunday’s contest at Ford Field, setting up veteran Jameis Winston to make his second consecutive start at quarterback.
Dart, a first-rounder in the 2025 NFL Draft who took over at QB in Week 4, hasn’t played since suffering a concussion Nov. 9.
The [Lions](https://detroitnews.sports.gracenote.com/football/nfl/team/1) had been preparing for either quarterback, but they figured Winston was the more likely option to play, given Dart’s timeline in concussion protocol. Dart offers more than Winston from a mobility standpoint, but head coach Dan Campbell isn’t expecting much deviation from the offense overall.
“I think the core of what they do and the pro-style offense itself is not going to change,” Campbell said Friday. “I think, even if Dart had played, there wasn’t going to be a ton of the quarterback run (and) things of that nature. I think the run game, itself, stays intact. I think the pass game, there is some vertical pass game to it. I don’t think it changes a ton.”
Winston completed 19 of his 29 pass attempts for 201 yards and an interception during last week’s narrow loss to the Green Bay Packers. Winston’s interception came late and in the end zone, as the Giants, down by a touchdown, were driving to potentially either tie the game or take the lead.
“He can put it on a dime. He’s not afraid to freaking rip it in there,” Campbell said of Winston, who has a career record of 36-52 as a starter across stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2015-19), New Orleans Saints (2020-23), Cleveland Browns (2024) and Giants. “He’s competitive, smart guy. Look, he’s going to give them a chance. He’s played a lot of games, won a lot of games.”
Winston, the 2015 draft’s first overall pick, has long been known as a gunslinger. He famously became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30-plus touchdowns and 30-plus interceptions in the same season (2019), and he racked up 5,109 passing yards in the process.
In his career, Winston has 145 big-time throws, which are classified by Pro Football Focus as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown farther down the field and/or into a tighter window.” He also has 183 turnover-worthy plays, per PFF.
Campbell and Winston overlapped for one season together with the Saints, in 2020. Winston only had 11 pass attempts in four appearances, but he went on to post a 5-2 record as a starter the next year. By that point, though, Campbell was in his first campaign with the Lions.
“He’s a leader, man. He’s one of those guys that — I think a lot like Teddy (Bridgewater) — people gravitate to him because he’s such a positive, upbeat, competitive (player),” Campbell said. “He doesn’t get frazzled, he doesn’t get worried about the small stuff. He’s just a great dude, man. … He’s a pro. He’s a stud.”