EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart said there was "never a doubt" he would play Thursday night against the rival Philadelphia Eagles even though he was projected as a limited participant in practice earlier this week.
Dart is dealing with a hamstring injury suffered two weeks ago in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The first-round draft pick played all 70 snaps in Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints.
"I feel good. I'm excited," Dart said Tuesday.
He said he always expected to be ready to face the Eagles despite taking some hard hits late against the Saints.
"Yeah, never a doubt," Dart said.
The Giants (1-4) also didn't seem overly concerned about his health. They had a walk-through Tuesday but projected Dart would have been a full participant in practice.
"Yeah, he'll be fine," coach Brian Daboll said beforehand.
The short week makes it difficult on players who were injured Sunday. Wide receiver Darius Slayton was listed as "did not participate" in practice for the second straight day Tuesday because of a hamstring injury. Slayton appears unlikely to play Thursday night, which could leave Dart and the Giants extremely short-handed on the outside with Malik Nabers (torn ACL) already sidelined.
Starting right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (back) has a better chance of playing despite also being projected to have missed practice Monday and Tuesday. Running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. also could return after missing two games with a shoulder injury.
Dart will be making his third NFL start and second at home. He has thrown for 312 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions.
But his legs are a massive part of his game. He has 109 yards rushing on 17 carries in his two starts.
Dart will face another quarterback who uses his legs as an asset. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has 182 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground this season. It's no surprise the Super Bowl winner is someone Dart admires.
"First of all, I love his mentality, his every-day accountability of himself, and at the same time raising the bar for his teammates," Dart said. "That was something, as an early college player, being able to look up to guys like that. It's going to be really cool to be on the same field with him and being able to compete against him. At the same time, him just being a really good competitor and being able to do a lot of things with his arm and with his legs and putting his team in really good situations to win."
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (4-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 21-17 defeat at home against the Denver Broncos.