Following another sub-par performance from Russell Wilson in Week 3, questions were again raised about the possibility of a quarterback change being made by the Giants. Head coach Brian Daboll left the door open to Jaxson Dart taking over during his Monday remarks. 
It appears that will indeed be the case. Dart is expected to receive the nod for Week 4, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This will be the first-round rookie’s first start in the regular season and presumably bring about an end to Wilson’s time atop the depth chart moving forward. After starting for three weeks, Wilson will handle backup duties, Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network add.
New York sits at 0-3 on the year and a matchup with the 3-0 Chargers is next on the schedule. That led many to predict Wilson would remain atop the depth chart for one more game before what should be a much more manageable contest against the Saints in Week 5. Indeed, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports conversations took place about waiting one more week before making the switch. Instead, Dart will get the nod against Los Angeles.
The Chargers rank fourth in the NFL in points allowed and eighth in total defense. They will thus represent a strong challenge for Dart as he takes on first-team duties on Sunday. Regardless of how things go in that game, though, Daboll and Co. are set to commit to the 22-year-old moving forward. With the Giants’ coaching staff and general manager Joe Schoen widely known to be on the hot seat, the expected move to Dart at some point in the season has been a major talking point in 2025.
Given today’s news, that transition is now set to take place before the first month of the campaign is even in the books. Dart impressed during the spring as well as training camp and the preseason, leading to a report earlier this month that he could ascend to the QB1 role earlier than expected. Nevertheless, it appeared after Week 1 that New York’s preference was to keep Wilson in place as the team’s starter as long as possible.
That stance appeared to be a sound one when Wilson threw for 450 yards during a high-scoring overtime loss to the Cowboys in Week 2. However, the Giants’ Sunday night loss to the Chiefs produced a return to Wilson’s previous form (and that of the offense in general). With improvement sorely needed moving forward, Dart will now take charge.
Wilson – who was added on a one-year deal featuring $10MM guaranteed this spring – has struggled mightily on third down and in the red zone. The Giants rank 31st in the league in both categories (h/t Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer), something which has driven this decision but also represents another illustration of Wilson’s decline. The 36-year-old did not manage to duplicate his Seahawks success during a two-year run in Denver (which saw him benched late in Year 2). 2024 saw the Steelers experiment with Wilson and Justin Fields at the QB spot, but things did not go according to plan.
Fields handled starting duties until Wilson was healthy from a summer calf injury; not everyone in the Steelers’ building agreed with the switch. Head coach Mike Tomlin kept the Super Bowl winner in place through the remainder of the campaign, though, a period which included a four-game losing streak to end the regular season and then a wild-card loss. Wilson’s market was strong enough to include interest from multiple teams, but it came as little surprise he accepted a short-term gig in New York despite the team’s need of a long-term QB investment.
After taking Abdul Carter third overall, the Giants traded back into the first round to select Dart. The USC and Ole Miss alum saw his production increase with each passing campaign, and he drew praise for his athleticism and efficiency in college. On the other hand, questions linger about Dart’s ability to acclimate to the NFL game in a more complex offense. That process will begin very early in his rookie campaign.
There you go. You have a perfectly capable backup in Winston to allow you to ease Dart in, instead you throw Dart in there to get eaten alive. They should trade Winston to the Bengals or someone who would use him.
I suspect Winston will get traded.
Exactly. They are going to ruin Dart for the first year’s of his career with this decision. Why did they even sign Winston if you are gonna leave him as a third string QB?
If the Giants weren’t going to give Winston a chance to do anything but be the 3rd QB, they should have just kept Tommy Cutlets.
Im sure Jameis is better on the sidelines to try and learn from than Tommy Devito. They also got winston and wilson before drafting Dart, so theres that too. They can also get something for Jameis in a trade to the Bengals for example rather than DeVito just being bad and unwanted.
So Dart is starting 2 weeks later than I predicted back in May. Schoen and Daboll probably won’t get the miracle they need to stay employed but attempting a Hail Mary is still better than maintaining the status quo which was getting them nowhere.
Gee, letting a regime on the hot seat draft a QB meant a slow start would push them to put him in faster than planned. Who could possibly have seen that coming?
I’m shocked! Shocked I tell you!
This is a mistake. I don’t mind it because it’s better for the birds in the long run, but just in general this is a mistake.
I mean sure start him if you want him sacked 4 times and throw for 150 yards.
Cue the flashing sign from “Airplane!”
“Okay, Panic!”
coach on the hot seat rushes the development of his raw talent in order to save his job. I don’t think this formula has ever worked before. starting guys before they are ready risks solidifying bad habits. But I guess we shall see.