Andrew Marchand, WFAN’s Shaun Morash draw battlelines in Jaxson Dart Questiongate

New York Giants backup quarterback Jaxson Dart’s stat line in Sunday’s 21-6 loss to the Washington Commanders was 0-of-0 for 0 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions in 0 minutes played.

However, it appears that he will be the talk of New York sports media for the entirety of the week ahead.

Starting quarterback Russell Wilson entered the 2025 season on shaky ground. His 17/37, 168-yard, zero-touchdown, and one-turnover performance did little to inspire confidence that he deserves his spot for very long, so much so that head coach Brian Daboll was initially noncommittal about who his Week 2 starter would be before sticking with him on Monday.

While Daboll and Wilson got peppered with plenty of questions following the loss, one person who didn’t field any questions was Dart. That’s because, per Darryl Slater of The Star Ledger, the Giants blocked the quarterback (as well as fellow backup Jameis Winston) from speaking with reporters after the game, which he said was a violation of league protocol. While some noted that this kind of thing happens, this was unusual because Dart had agreed to speak with the media before being shut down.

Jaxson Dart agreed to speak with reporters after game, but Giants spokesman again violated NFL’s clear-cut media rules by shutting down interview before it could begin.

Giants have refused to let Dart or Jameis Winston talk to media, disregarding long-standing league protocol. https://t.co/Guv9f8AbDs

— Darryl Slater (@DarrylSlater) September 7, 2025

One person who was incensed by the whole “non-story” was WFAN’s Shaun Morash, who called it “embarrassing.”

“There is quite literally zero reason to be asking a player who did not play in the game and is currently a backup anything after a game,” Morash wrote on X, adding that it was “sad ‘reporting.’”

The Evan and Tiki host, who also hosts the One Giant Step podcast, continued to take on all comers on X, pushing back on those who said reporters have to follow the story and that Dart is a key member of the Giants and worthy of comment, even if he didn’t play.

Then, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand entered the fray, quoting Morash’s initial post, “This is a very bad take.”

This is a very bad take. https://t.co/UpkBL24KLL

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 7, 2025

“So now reporting is talking to a backup player on a team that didn’t play a snap, wasn’t announced he would play a snap, yet the team should be making him available after a game?” asked Morash. “That’s an extreme reach.”

“You will talk about this issue all week until a decision is announced,” Marchand noted, given Morash’s profession. “What Dart thinks would make you and everyone else more informed.”

“A Dart quote about how he is going to stay prepared and is supportive of Russ adds what exactly? Come on now,” replied Morash. “The offense stunk, the o-line stunk. Dart can only get himself alienated with a locker room on a bad comment in this situation. And who does that benefit?”

“Talk to him,” Marchand said. “He’s a professional, who reportedly agreed to be interviewed.”

When an X user asked Marchand why Morash’s take was “very bad,” The Athletic reporter replied that “Reporters should talk to whomever they need for a stories,” “There were reports Dart might see action,” “The coach said he hasn’t decided on who is starting next week, and “this is professional football.”

Morash couldn’t stay away.

“There were reports by the same reporters asking to talk to Dart, not a single team representative announced he would play,” he wrote. “So a reporter can float something out there to give them their own reason to ask that player about it? That’s a really bad journalistic precedent.”

There were reports by the same reporters asking to talk to Dart, not a single team representative announced he would play. So a reporter can float something out there to give them their own reason to ask that player about it? That’s a really bad journalistic precedent

— Shaun Morash (@ShaunMorash) September 8, 2025

“All these media entities spend $$ to send reporters to D.C. For sports, it is incredibly helpful for teams and league,” responded Marchand. “If a reporter wants to talk to a player and a player is willing, there should be an interview. It’s the big leagues.”

“Andrew, outside of a reporter hoping they catch Dart with a ‘gotcha’ quote that goes viral, who exactly does speaking with him benefit? Be honest,” said Morash. “The reader?? It doesn’t. And the fans of the team know this. Can we be fair to a rookie backup who we knew was backing up?”

Seeing the cyclical nature of the discussion at hand, Marchand tried to nip it in the bud.

“This will probably be it for me,” he wrote. “By your account of things, you, Evan, and Tiki should not mention Dart all week. Just wait for the Giants to give you the word on what to talk about and when. If they make a change at QB, then you can talk about it.”

This will probably be it for me. By your account of things, you, Evan and Tiki should not mention Dart all week.

Just wait for the Giants to give you the word on what to talk about and when. If they make a change at QB, then you can talk about it. https://t.co/6XM95art5u

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 8, 2025

However, Morash got in the last word.

“So we shouldn’t discuss our opinions on when we think he should play?” he asked. “Need to ask the kid when he is or if he was told he will play before forming an opinion? That is not the same and you know that. This is about reporters praying they get a catchy headline period.”

Marchand returned to X a few hours later to offer up a bit of a wrap-up statement on why he felt there would have been nothing wrong with a reporter asking Jaxson Dart questions about the Giants’ loss on Sunday.

“Most reporters don’t ask ‘Gotcha’ questions,” he said. “The rare ones who try to do that are almost never successful. What elicits the best responses are open-ended questions that make it easy to give honest thoughts.

“All the young ones want to be Mike [Francesa] & Chris [Russo]. They went places in their heyday. Plus, Mike rose after gaining a lot of insight in trenches at CBS. This is not directed at Morash, but I’d recommend to all sports talk show hosts, go to games, go into locker rooms, talk to people. It will make you and your shows better.”

This is not directed at Morash, but I’d recommend to all sports talk show hosts, go to games, go into locker rooms, talk to people. It will make you and your shows better.

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 8, 2025

Both sides presented some salient points and outlined their reasons for why they believe they are right. Ultimately, we’re awarding the win to Marchand.

Morash is right that Dart almost certainly would have given a boilerplate answer to any question he was asked. However, it’s not the reporter’s job to assign value to a subject based on an expectation of how they’ll answer. It’s the reporter’s job to ask the questions. And getting a generic answer that doesn’t provide any information is still better than never having asked the question in the first place.

And, as Marchand and others noted, you work with the access you’re given. And suppose the Giants told Morash that Jaxson Dart was available to be on Evan & Tiki tomorrow. In that case, he’d jump at the chance, and they would be negligent in their duties if they didn’t ask him what he thought of Wilson’s performance and whether or not he felt like he should be the starter. The onus would be on Dart, the public figure and professional football player, to answer as he saw fit.

Ultimately, we can appreciate Morash’s stance, but it feels like he’s coming at this more as a Giants supporter than a Giants media member.