Jameis Winston entered last Sunday as the No. 3 quarterback for the New York Giants.
This week, he seems ready to make his first start of the season.
Winston has moved ahead of fellow veteran quarterback Russell Wilson on the Giants’ depth chart, according to multiple media outlets. The move puts Winston in line for what appears to be a likely start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, as regular starter Jaxson Dart remains in the concussion protocol.
This is the first major decision made by interim coach Mike Kafka since the Giants fired coach Brian Daboll on Monday. New York went 20-40-1 in three-plus seasons under Daboll, including a 2-8 start.
A ten-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson started 11 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, his 13th NFL season. He was signed during the offseason by the Giants to be their starting quarterback in 2025.
Winston was signed to be Wilson’s backup. In his previous 10 NFL seasons, Winston went 36-51 as the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, with 154 touchdowns and 111 interceptions.
In April, the Giants traded up nine draft spots to select Dart with the 25th overall pick. The recruit from Mississippi ended up winning the second quarterback spot. But Wilson was largely ineffective during the Giants’ 0-3 start, and Dart was promoted to starting quarterback in Week 4.
Dart helped the Giants to wins over the Chargers and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in two of his first three starts. Overall this season, Dart is 2-7 as a starter, completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,417 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Last week against the Chicago Bears, Dart hit his head on the ground during the third quarter and was ultimately checked for a concussion for the fourth time this season. Wilson entered the game midway through the game and led the Giants to an eventual field goal and a 20-10 lead.
Overall, however, Wilson was again ineffective – he completed 3 of 7 passes for 45 yards and was sacked twice – as the Giants collapsed and lost the game 24-20.
