And Dart and the Giants responded.
Outside linebacker Jonathan Cooper, the AFC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Week, dismissed Dart as a threat ahead of Sunday’s game at Empower Field at Mile High.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s a young guy,” Cooper said, shrugging. “He’s feelin’ himself a little bit. He’s out there running around. He’s got the chain on. He’s dancing. Ya know, I feel like everybody needs something, so, you know.”
“But we’ve [gone] against QBs who have ran around in the pocket and have tried to do stuff with their legs,” he added. “So it ain’t nothing we haven’t seen.”
Then Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, the NFL’s sack leader, put down the Giants’ entire fan base after seeing the reaction to Cooper’s trash talk on social media.
“I’ve never seen such [a] delusional fan base,” Bonitto wrote in a since-deleted post on ‘X.’
Not all of the Broncos’ comments about the Giants were negative.
Corner Pat Surtain II, the reigning 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, offered effusive compliments for Dart.
“The team is rallying behind him,” Surtain said this week. “He is very confident. It seems like he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder. You can just see the poise and intangibles…. I think he will be a great player for sure in this league.”
But the disrespect of Cooper’s and Bonitto’s comments reached the Giants’ locker room quickly. And Giants rookie Abdul Carter fired back at Cooper:
“Put ya 3D glasses on,” Carter posted on social media.
What does that mean?
“If you know, you know,” Carter said at his locker Friday. “We believe in our guys. Don’t want to put too much into it, but we’re ready for Sunday. We’re gonna settle everything on the field.”
Dart stuck up for himself, too.
The rookie quarterback told the Daily News on Friday of Cooper’s comments: “Well, I appreciate him noticing my dances. And that’s about it. I’m excited to go out there and compete in Denver. They’re a really good team. So it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”
So buckle up. Sunday’s game should bring a whole lot of nasty, and the Giants are determined to respond.
SLAYTON DOUBTFUL, SCHMITZ OUT
Carter (hamstring) was added to the injury report on Friday as questionable for Sunday’s game, but he didn’t show any doubt about his game status while talking confidently about settling this feud on the field.
Giants center John Michael Schmitz (concussion) and linebackers Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (hamstring) and Swayze Bozeman (ankle) are out for Sunday’s game. Austin Schlottmann will start in Schmitz’s place.
Wide receiver Darius Slayton (hamstring) is doubtful and likely to miss a second straight game. Defensive lineman Chauncey Golston (neck) is doubtful. And outside linebacker Victor Dimukeje (pec, questionable) seems poised to make his Giants debut.
The Broncos only have two players on their final injury report: Outside linebacker Jonah Elliss (shoulder) is out. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quad, questionable) seems likely to make his season debut for Denver after being upgraded to a full participant on Friday.