Giants Ride with Russell Wilson Pact for ’25

If you thought the New York Giants were going to make their search for a franchise quarterback a smooth ride, Big Blue had other ideas.

The Giants threw a grenade at conventional wisdom late Tuesday when they officially signed journeyman Russell Wilson to a one-year $21 million deal to be its starting quarterback in 2025, just days after inking Jameis Winston to a two-year deal.

And, oh by the way, there is some thought out there that the Giants might STILL draft a quarterback high in the draft next month!

At least Big Blue is out of the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes.

Wilson joins a Giants team that is desperate to figure out its quarterback conundrum, but one must wonder what the next steps really are for Big Blue both in the short and long term.

In his prime Wilson was a borderline Hall of Fame player, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013, and was on the doorstep of another had Seattle chose another play call at the end of Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots.

Since that time, Wilson has become a journeyman, bouncing from Seattle to Denver, Pittsburgh and now New York.

With the Steelers, Wilson missed the first six weeks of the season due to injury, making way for Justin Fields to impress. Fields went 4-2 in those six starts, and parlayed it in to a two-year deal with the Jets this off-season.

When Wilson returned, he got off to a good start, winning six of seven, but lost his last five starts including a 28-14 beatdown at the hands of the Ravens in the playoffs.

At the very least Wilson gives the Giants their best starting option since Eli Manning retired in 2019. At worst, he is going to be a stop gap who will start some games before Jameis Winston, and whomever the Giants draft get opportunties.

The real question is does Wilson's signing take the Giants out of the running for Sheduer Sanders?

Paul Schwartz of the New York Post believes the Giants still could pursue a quarterback in the draft.

Using the number 3 overall pick on a quarterback now seems silly now, especially after Big Blue spent over $29 million in contracts to Wilson and Jameis Winston. The Giants have other needs other than quarterback.

Cornerback, edge rusher and offensive line are all needs for Big Blue. Perhaps, the Giants trade down, or take the best player available that is not a quarterback in this spot. The Giants could draft someone like Jaxson Dart or Kyle McCord if they wait to the later rounds of the draft. That would make more sense at this point.

What Will the Russell Wilson's Impact be?

That is the $21 million question. It is superfluous to think that two aging veteran quarterbacks (Wilson and Winston) can save the jobs of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. One problem adding Wilson creates is this: What if the Giants win too much that it positions them out of the running for a quarterback in the 2026 draft; a quarterback class that is expected to be better than this year's crop.

And one guy that could come out is the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning: Arch Manning.

If the Giants finish with six or seven wins with Wilson and Winston, well whomever the Giants coach/GM tandem is in 2026 will need to get really creative to finally answer Big Blue's prolonged quarterback drama.