Let Jameis cook, or something like that! The New York Giants are making odd moves at the poker table, or are they? What feels obvious is just confusing.
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We have many other teams and topics to touch on as this NFL offseason progresses, but we need to stop and examine what the New York Giants are doing at the quarterback position, because it would seem to have major implications league-wide. Doing or not doing, that is the question.
After free agency opened, two veteran targets fell into New York’s crosshairs. The franchise began by signing Jameis Winston to a two-year, $8 million contract. They followed that up days later by adding Russell Wilson on a one-year deal worth up to $21 million. The Winston contract was backup-QB money, indicating something more was in the works. It was hard to tell what that may have been until Wilson was added to the depth chart to be the starter. Including holdover Tommy DeVito, the three-deep quarterback room is now set for the 2025 Giants. Right?
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That, on its own, is not a bizarre statement. Teams often bring in veterans to lead the team for the short term. Adding two veterans is just smart practice with how often QBs get injured these days, and with the price tag being reasonable for both. Wilson is well past his prime but likes to sling the ball deep and should be a good match with star wide receiver Malik Nabers. Winston has similar proclivities and could be a fun entrant when forced into game action. This gives New York a future Hall of Famer starting and a quality backup if the need arises. All well and good, but are they better and more importantly, good enough for everyone to keep their jobs?
New York Giants Mystery Plans
Todd Salem:
The desire to compete in 2025 feels like looking at the roster through rose-colored glasses, but it isn’t preposterous. The Giants already have pieces at the skill positions on offense, as well as a building-block left tackle. The defense is great up front and added multiple starters to the secondary in free agency. New York will also be able to add multiple pieces with early draft picks, including the third overall selection.
This all buries the lead. The Giants’ decision to sign both Wilson and Winston all but guarantees they will not be selecting a quarterback with the third pick in the draft. Teams don’t roster four quarterbacks, for one. DeVito is expendable, but teams also don’t dump a high-profile rookie third on the depth chart. Either the team knows one of the top QBs is not going to be available at pick three, or, even if they are, they don’t want them.
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It’s a pretty remarkable tell, to borrow a poker term, this early in the draft process. The Giants are showing their cards weeks before the draft begins. If you want to tell me it’s still possible they draft a quarterback, it’d have to be an Atlanta Falcons situation from last year. Atlanta solved their quarterback plan prior to the draft and then pivoted and drafted a new QB anyway, throwing the franchise into turmoil. Things went very poorly in ’24, but the team seems happy with Michael Penix now (even though they still have the albatross Kirk Cousins contract on the books as well). So what if, for example, Cam Ward miraculously falls to three. Maybe the Giants pull the same pivot and draft the quarterback anyway.
It’s unlikely that will even come into play. So, do you agree this takes QB off the board for the Giants, implying they have no interest in Shedeur Sanders? If so, is that the right decision? We will go into more depth on Travis Hunter in the coming weeks because he is a fascinating prospect. If New York comes away from the first round of the draft with Hunter or Abdul Carter, it adds a potential blue-chip player to a roster with a veteran QB who wants to win now. I understand the blueprint even if I don’t necessarily agree it was the smartest course of action.
Dan Salem:
Because you are a fan of the New York Giants, you see an optimistic future for 2025 and beyond. That’s how a fan should think, but it’s completely wrong until the Giants fix one thing. Prior to the signing of Wilson, there was only ever one option for the Giants and signing Jameis Winston confirmed it. New York would be drafting a QB in 2025 and while obvious, it’s the only thing that made any sense. The Giants front office is on thin ice, but developing a QB gives them more runway to rebuild this season and lower expectations in the wins column. Now with Wilson, the opposite is true!
The Giants STILL need to fix their offense and two old gunslingers at QB aren’t going to cut it. Perhaps New York will improve significantly this season. Considering how bad they were in 2024, that is fairly probable, but the Giants were never one player away from being a playoff team. While the QB position held them back last season, it was not the primary reason they sucked. The team went from a run first offense with a homerun threat in the backfield, to a pass first offense without a star passer or enough receiver options to be a threat. This submarined their year, but the New York Giants will not be made a fool two seasons in a row. No sir.
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Now New York has two prolific passers in their QB room, albeit two players well past their primes. Every NFL fan knows exactly who Wilson and Winston are. They also are aware of how quickly their success collapsed last season. Therefore, I can’t help but think the Giants will STILL draft a QB to develop, even if that means carrying four of them.
The year prior New York won an extra game and fell back a spot or two in the draft. They chose not to trade up and let Washington get a star QB. Now the Giants are comfortably last in the NFC East and they remain there in 2025. What is going to push them ahead of the Eagles, Commanders and Cowboys? All three are set at QB for multiple seasons, with an infrastructure to support them. Perhaps Dallas is on shaky ground, but it’s the Giants who are two laps behind. Add in the fact that every coach and front office person in New York is on the hotseat with their job on the line, and now things clear up real fast. The Giants must rebuild and do so definitively.
Drafting a rookie QB to build upon is the only thing that saves jobs in New York. Winning a few extra games with Wilson can’t possibly give these guys another season, especially without a longterm answer for the quarterback in place. This regime has not had the opportunity to develop a QB yet and they passed on it last season. Now is the time, because they aren’t good enough to compete (win more than 10 games) with Wilson at QB. He may fill seats in September and October, but he won’t equal many wins for a rebuilding team. I know from personal experience (Jets).
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So Winston was the obvious addition, because you need a player who can pass a lot, but also a player who is ready to become the backup when the time is right. He isn’t winning the job from anyone, or keeping it. Winston is a holding pattern for a rookie to take over. Wilson is not that, which makes you wonder. Does the Giants front office ACTUALLY know that simply improving will prevent them from getting fired?
The odds of New York winning more than seven games this season are low, but if you’re rebuilding then you don’t want to. Putting in Wilson says you are trying to win, but when you lose, then it looks really bad (Jets again). New York’s ceiling is nine wins with Wilson, but that is being generous. He will give way to Winston by November due to injury or simply being old, which is why I still believe the Giants will draft a QB. Putting in Winston says you are rebuilding and don’t care what happens on the scoreboard. Losing is simply one outcome and it’s fine. New York must develop a rookie QB now, because they don’t have the luxury of waiting another year.
Any other outcome and I’m dubious of this team’s ability to do its job well. There is a silver lining. I believe the Giants can successfully develop a QB and the team is ready for its leader on offense. One more bad year that may surprise us and then things truly turn around for the New York Giants.
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
New York Giants Confusing Offseason – This Is The End
New York Giants Photo Credits: newstribune.com and elitesportsny.com; fox10phoenix.com via Getty Images
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