“I expect to be the starter,” Russell Wilson said during his introductory news conference last month. A new phase with the Giants in 2025 will also come with him being a veteran voice in the locker room, but he also understood that a lot of changes were waiting in the near future; The Giants already have Wilson, Tommy DeVito, and Jameis Winston in the QB room and it will be interesting to see what they do in the NFL Draft with their No. 3 overall pick (a future franchise quarterback?). But for Wilson, it seems the chapters he would like to bury might have implications on what is to come.

You see, the Steelers claimed they were interested in signing either Justin Fields or Wilson. The former ended up signing a lucrative deal with the Jets and when it looked like the veteran QB was their answer, the team simply didn’t look too interested in him. And perhaps the Giants might suddenly realize why ‘Steel City’ didn’t fight for the QB… Hey, that’s what reporter Mike Florior has suggested!

On his famous ProFootballTalk show, Florio talked about the starting and backup quarterbacks situation in the NFL right now, and that’s where he couldn’t help but discuss the 36-year-old QB’s situation. He stated, “I think that Winston will be a fan favorite. I think there will be locker room support for Jameis Winston. You have the guy who is the ultimate authentic version of himself as the backup with the guy who is the ultimate manicured ‘watch what you say’ play the role of a guy who’s pretending to be an NFL starting quarterback as the starter

“And if Russell Wilson doesn’t perform well and there’s reason to believe he won’t, there’s reason to believe that the Steelers didn’t want him around because of the current state of his physical abilities, Winston who beat Russell Wilson in what Winston calls the most iconic snow game of all time, narrator. It’s not. But it was still pretty damn good… I think at some point in the 2025 season, we are going to see what Jameis Winston can do. Because remember this. Winston is signed for two years, and Russell Wilson is signed for one year.”

Now, before we get into other things, let’s see who has given a stronger performance in the 2024 season between Wilson and Winston. Russell Wilson has landed 16 TDs for 2482 yards while completing 214 out of 336 passes at a 63.7% rate. If we look at Winston’s stats, he scored 13 TDs for 2121 yards in 2024. To achieve that, he completed 181 out of 296 passes at a completion rate of 61.1. So, statistically, Wilson looks better, but his performance in the last five games overshadowed his good stats. The Steelers lost their last five games in the 2024 season, including the wild-card game.

His struggle in moving quickly and problems with turnarounds cost the franchise a season. And this is why Florio thinks Wilson, at best, is going to be a backup QB. But to understand the current QB situation in the Giants a bit better, we need to have a look at their contracts. Those numbers might reveal what the team hasn’t!

What is Russell Wilson’s role with the Giants?

The Giants were in need of two types of QBs. The first would be a veteran, and the second would be a talented rookie who can be a franchise QB. So while the team is still in the process of planning what their depth chart will look like, Wilson could easily be a placeholder for the offense. And if they get in a rookie, the younger player could learn more from the veteran until he is ultimately ready to handle the offense.

You see, Wilson has been to the Super Bowl and knows what it takes to win games for his team. His presence and mentorship could teach valuable lessons to a rookie QB. And Winston could serve as a backup, contributing whenever he is needed. But here is something we need to consider: Wilson’s contract (one year) maxed out at $21 million, with $10 million guaranteed. On the other hand, Winston’s contract may be for two years, but that’s at $4 million per year. If we put it together, that’s a sum of $14 million guaranteed between the two QBs. Interestingly, that was the amount that Daniel Jones received in order to be the backup for the Colts. So what the Giants QBs are receiving isn’t what a starting QB would ideally receive. It sounds more like a stop-gap quarterback situation.

All that being said, let us not forget how Winston stated earlier he could have “that starter-bridge opportunity in the future” with the team. That could happen considering Wilson has only a one-year contract, and when he leaves, Winston would be the veteran bridge in case there’s a younger QB in the mix. But in the end, it’s all up to the team to make the ultimate decision about who starts.

Further, let us not forget that the Colorado Buffaloes completed their Pro Day, and Shedeur Sanders put all the top teams in the draft on notice by saying, “You’ll be a fool not to pick me.” He was directly taking a hit at the NFL teams with that statement, and that also applies to the Giants, who have been at the center of the conversation regarding Shedeur Sanders.

Let’s see if the Giants would pick Shedeur or not while keeping Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston on their toes. What do you think?