Russell Wilson

Bengals Pursued Several QB Options Before Settling On Joe Flacco

October 8th, 2025 at 5:40pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bengals initially hoped that Jake Browning would be able to keep the ship afloat as the team awaited Joe Burrow‘s return from injury. However, after the fill-in tossed three interceptions for his third-straight loss, the front office decided to pivot, bringing in Joe Flacco to temporarily guide the offense.

However, the Bengals did explore some other options before ultimately settling on the 40-year-old signal caller. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the front office called around to any team that had some extra QB depth. In fact, there was “some chatter” surrounding Cincy’s pursuit of Seahawks QB Drew Lock and Eagles QB Sam Howell. On the flip side, none of Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, nor Kirk Cousins were “ever real possibilities” for the franchise.

Both Lock and Howell represent younger options than Flacco (it’d be hard not to). Lock has 28 games of starting experience, with close to half of those appearances coming with the Broncos in 2020. After going 1-4 in five starts with the Giants in 2024, Lock inked a two-year contract with the Seahawks this past offseason. That means the QB would have brought some extra team control to Cincinnati.

Howell is playing out the final season of his rookie contract, and a deal with Cincinnati would have marked his fourth trade since March of 2024. Howell was actually Lock’s predecessor as Seattle’s QB2, as he got limited reps while backing up Geno Smith in 2024. Before that, he started all 17 games for the Commanders in 2023, tossing 21 touchdowns vs. a league-leading 21 interceptions.

Any of Wilson, Winston, and Cousins would have brought their own intrigue to the Bengals. Wilson was recently benched for rookie Jaxson Dart in New York, and Winston has yet to see the field as a Giants backup in 2025. Cousins is somehow still kicking around Atlanta, although he did make a cameo in a blowout loss to the Panthers last month.

Flacco was ultimately the team’s choice as a stopgap quarterback. According to Graziano, the Bengals didn’t anticipate any acquisition to immediately be inserted into the starting lineup, but the team is apparently hopeful that Flacco will be able to start this weekend against the Packers. If he’s not ready to go, then the veteran would be set to make his Bengals debut the following Thursday night against the Steelers.

Bengals Acquire Joe Flacco From Browns

October 7th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bengals have indeed changed their tune on a quarterback trade. They will make an intra-AFC North swap, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reporting the team is set to acquire Joe Flacco from the Browns. The deal is now official pending a physical.

Cleveland will acquire a fifth-round pick from Cincinnati, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who adds this pick-swap exchange will involve a sixth going back to the Bengals. The sixth going to Cincy is originally a Detroit selection from the November 2024 Za’Darius Smith trade. The picks are in the 2026 draft, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.

After Zac Taylor indicated Jake Browning‘s starting job was in jeopardy, the Bengals will acquire a QB — just not one previously mentioned could be in play. As should be expected, the Bengals (per Schefter) want Flacco to be ready for their Week 6 game against the Packers.

Rather than a bigger swing for Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins, the Bengals — already rostering a $55MM-per-year contract via the September 2023 Joe Burrow extension — will take on Flacco’s one-year, $4.25MM deal. Only $1.26MM of that is tied up in base salary, meaning the Bengals will only be on the hook for around $1MM in additional salary. The Browns will take on $999K in 2025 dead money and, due to void years on Flacco’s deal, $1.4MM in 2026, per Spotrac.

This marks the third time Flacco has been traded. The Broncos obtained the former Super Bowl MVP from the Ravens in 2019, and the Jets reacquired him from the Eagles in 2021. No calls went to the Giants on Wilson or Jameis Winston, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. As of Sunday morning, no calls were believed to have gone out. A rough Browning showing against the Lions looks to have changed the team’s stance. While New York retains its Wilson-Winston-Jaxson Dart quarterback room, Cleveland has dealt into its previous four-man competition once again.

This will be Flacco’s seventh NFL destination, and he is now a Steelers stop from completing the AFC North cycle. The Browns benched the 40-year-old passer ahead of their Week 5 London trip, going with Dillon Gabriel. Cleveland’s QB depth chart — which once housed both Flacco and Kenny Pickett — has changed significantly over the past several weeks. Cleveland sent Pickett to Las Vegas just before the season. This marks the team’s third QB trade (for a veteran), as it also acquired Pickett from Philadelphia in March, this year.

Receiving poor play from Browning — after he had proved surprisingly effective in 2023 — the Bengals had been calling teams on QBs for the past 48 hours, Rapoport adds. This is just the third in-season player acquisition via trade since 1973 for the Bengals, who obtained offensive lineman B.J. Finney in 2020 and running back Khalil Herbert last season. It is a last-ditch move aimed at salvaging a season that has skidded well off track following Burrow’s toe injury.

This marks the first time the Bengals have obtained a player from a division rival in a trade since they landed Hall of Fame wide receiver Charlie Joiner and linebacker Ron Pritchard for running backs Paul Robinson and Fred Willis from the then-AFC Central rival Oilers, SI.com’s Jay Morrison notes. This marks just the third time this century division rivals have swapped veteran QBs. Although this has happened before the 21st century, the 2002 Drew Bledsoe and 2010 Donovan McNabb swaps (h/t ESPN’s Evan Kaplan) mark the only such instances since 2000.

This move also comes eight years after the Bengals and Browns nearly made a trade involving Cincinnati backup QB A.J. McCarron. The Browns had been close to acquiring McCarron, but the deal was not finalized in time. The teams will link up on this Flacco swap nearly a month before this year’s trade deadline.

The Browns and Bengals faced off in Week 1, with Flacco facing Burrow. By the sides’ Week 18 rematch, Cincy hopes to have Burrow back at the controls. After losing three straight blowouts, the Bengals looked closer to eventually determining Burrow would need to be shelved for the season’s remainder. Now, they will hope Flacco can elevate their offense in hopes of revitalizing contention hopes in what could be Trey Hendrickson‘s final season in Cincinnati.

In Week 1, the Bengals edged a Flacco-quarterbacked Browns team 17-16. Cleveland doubled up Cincinnati in first downs (22-11), and Flacco completed 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards. He threw a touchdown pass and two interceptions, but both picks came on drops by Browns receivers. Flacco, though, has been unable to curb his INT trend, leading to the Gabriel promotion. The 18th-year veteran threw four more INTs from Weeks 2-4, completing just 58.1% of his passes at an anemic 5.1 yards per attempt. Flacco’s weaponry situation will improve significantly, however, following this trade.

Although Flacco is not exactly the most stable option, his 2023 Cleveland cameo shows the upgrade Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins could see. The Browns added Flacco on a practice squad deal that year, giving him five starts following Deshaun Watson‘s season-ending injury. Flacco led a team missing Nick Chubb and both starting tackles to the playoffs, going 4-1 as a starter and winning Comeback Player of the Year acclaim.

The Browns flamed out in the wild-card round and did not make Flacco an offer to stay, making a final bid to build around Watson in 2024. Flacco ended up in Indianapolis as Anthony Richardson insurance, but after the Colts signed Daniel Jones this offseason, he returned to Cleveland as the elder statesman in an otherwise young QB room.

Making 195 career starts, the former 11-year Ravens QB1 prevailed in the Browns’ four-man quarterback competition this summer. It did not turn out to be very close, as a Pickett hamstring injury removed him from the running. Pickett is now backing up Geno Smith in Las Vegas. With the Browns undoubtedly eyeing a 2026 draft move for a longer-term replacement, Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders‘ presences notwithstanding, the team being unconcerned with dealing a passer to help a division rival makes sense. Sanders, despite his strange mime routine following the news Flacco would be Cleveland’s QB2 following the Gabriel elevation, should also be expected to rise from QB3 to QB2 on Cleveland’s depth chart.

Browning will be set to slide down Cincinnati’s. After replacing an injured Burrow more effectively in 2023, Browning proved woeful — save for some garbage-time work against the Lions — in his second Cincy starter stint. He threw eight interceptions in four games, including three against Detroit in Week 5.

The Bengals lost by a combined 113-37 against the Vikings, Broncos and Lions. Taylor had gone from offering Browning support ahead of Week 5 to walking it back following the home loss to the Lions. The 2-3 team is throwing a Hail Mary of sorts in Flacco, but the operation was careening off the rails with Browning running the show.

Flacco went 2-4 as a Colts starter last season, and while he posted a 12:7 TD-INT ratio, his form did not closely rival the 2023 Cleveland work. The Bengals also have experienced O-line issues for years. Going into Week 5, Pro Football Focus ranked Cincinnati’s O-line last in the NFL. The stationary QB could struggle behind that quintet, even though he operated well without then-Browns starting tackles Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin late in the ’23 season.

This will be a wildly interesting experiment for the Bengals, who paid up to extend both Chase and Higgins this offseason. Browning’s form had reduced the marquee receivers’ value; the team will hope Flacco can restore it while Burrow rehabs. A mid-December return is viewed as the goal for Burrow. Flacco helping at least restore offensive competency would stand to keep that hope in play.

Anthony Richardson, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins Not Drawing Trade Interest

October 4th, 2025 at 10:46pm CST by Connor Byrne

With experienced starting quarterbacks Anthony Richardson (Colts), Russell Wilson (Giants), and Kirk Cousins (Falcons) occupying backup roles for their teams, it stands to reason any of the three could wind up on the move before the Nov. 4 trade deadline. However, four weeks into the season, nobody from that group has drawn interest, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports.

Of that trio, Richardson is the least likely to change hands, according to Jones. The former fourth overall pick (2023) disappointed during his first two years in the league, and he then lost a preseason competition to Daniel Jones for the Colts’ starting job this summer. Jones has since gotten off to a surprisingly fast start for the 3-1 Colts, further calling Richardson’s future into question.

The Colts are inclined to keep Richardson through the season, though, as he’ll remain under team control in 2026. He has a fifth-year option for 2027 that Indianapolis will have to decide on in the offseason. Unless his stock rises dramatically this year, it would be a shock if the Colts exercised it.

With the Giants having benched Wilson for rookie Jaxson Dart in late September, the 36-year-old looks like the most logical trade candidate of this group. The Giants haven’t actively sought out offers for Wilson, per Jones, but that could change over the next month. They already have another veteran backup in Jameis Winston under contract for next season.

Wilson, on the other hand, is due to reach free agency again during the spring after signing a one-year, $10.5MM contract with the Giants. An acquiring team would take on Wilson’s prorated $2MM base salary while likely surrendering a Day 3 draft pick, Jones hears.

Despite a quality track record as a starter, it’s no surprise that Cousins hasn’t drawn interest. His contract – which comes with expensive guarantees in the form of a $27.5MM base salary this year and a $10MM roster bonus for 2026 – is prohibitive. The Falcons would reportedly want an acquiring team to take on Cousins’ financial commitments and give up a premium draft pick. Barring drastic changes, he’s likely to ride out the season as the backup to Michael Penix Jr.

Assuming none of Richardson, Wilson, or Cousins end up back in starting roles with their current teams, it may require a contending club(s) suffering a significant injury at QB for any of them to garner trade interest. The Bengals make sense as a potential suitor on paper, having lost starter Joe Burrow to a toe injury in Week 2. Burrow could miss three months (if not more), and backup Jake Browning has struggled mightily since taking the reins. Despite that, the Bengals remain confident in Browning. They also rarely swing in-season trades, and the Mike Brown-led organization may be unwilling to add to its payroll.

Beyond Cincinnati, the Ravens, Vikings, and 49ers are also dealing with injuries to their starters. The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson could miss multiple games with a hamstring injury, but they signed an experienced backup in Cooper Rush last March.

The Vikings also have a battle-tested reserve of their own, Carson Wentz, who’s playing in place of J.J. McCarthy as he recovers from an ankle sprain. As for the 49ers, they appear to be in great shape with No. 2 signal-caller Mac Jones, who has excelled filling in for Brock Purdy. With Purdy down with a toe injury, Jones has led the 49ers to three wins in as many starts.

Giants Brass Did Not Oppose Jaxson Dart Promotion; Latest On HC Brian Daboll

September 28th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Rory Parks

A report earlier this week noted that Giants head coach Brian Daboll did not consult his coaching staff or team execs in making a seminal starting quarterback switch from Russell Wilson to first-round rookie Jaxson Dart. It would be easy to read that report and infer some sort of disconnect between Daboll and his fellow coaches and/or team brass, but apparently that is not the case.

As Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (subscription required) observes, depth chart configurations are always the HC’s responsibility, and in this instance, neither GM Joe Schoen nor co-owner John Mara offered any dissent to Daboll’s decision. Nor did they force the move, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required).

According to Russini, some objections to the change were raised, but she does not specify who made those objections. And now, she says, the entire organization is backing the head coach and his young signal-caller, though Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, who believes Daboll has summoned Dart in an effort to save his own job, describes the locker room’s response as “tepid” (while acknowledging the players support Dart personally).

Russini says several players on both sides of the ball, including team captains, contacted Dart as soon as the decision was announced to let him know he has their support. Likewise, third-stringer Jameis Winston has spent hours with Dart and ran through game scripts with him after practice until the rookie mastered them. And although Wilson is reportedly now considered a trade candidate — which Dan Duggan of The Athletic is skeptical of, given Wilson’s 2025 performance and his limited market this offseason — Schwartz says the organization believes Dart will benefit from continuing to be around the 36-year-old passer, who handled his demotion with the type of maturity the team expected.

Interestingly, Russini says the Giants considered naming Dart the starter after their Week 1 loss to the Commanders, and Schwartz says Dart would have started from the jump if New York did not have a veteran option with Wilson’s pedigree on the roster. While Schoen had previously voiced his hope that Wilson would stay in the QB1 role for some time, that was because such a development would have meant Wilson was playing well enough to merit the job.

Of course, Wilson’s performance did not prevent Daboll, whose job security is tenuous at best, from inserting the player he pushed for in the draft into the starting lineup. Despite a gaudy stat line in a Week 2 loss to the Cowboys – which was aided in large part by Dallas’ porous secondary – Schwartz says Wilson’s inability to consistently find the endzone was one of the triggers for his benching, along with the team’s belief that he was too quick to scramble instead of going through his progressions when he felt pressure.

Schwartz adds that a fourth quarter sequence at the end of Big Blue’s Week 3 loss to the Chiefs may have been Wilson’s final straw. In a first-and-goal situation at Kansas City’s 4-yard line, Wilson was flagged for intentional grounding on first down, ran for four yards on second down, and made non-competitive throws on third and fourth down.

Regardless of the impetus for the decision, Dart is now tasked with saving the Giants’ season and, perhaps, the New York futures of Daboll and Schoen. Even if he cannot do that — indeed, Leonard believes Daboll could be fired if his troops do not play well against the Chargers in Week 4 — he can still cement his status as the team’s long-term option at quarterback.

Russell Wilson Expected To Become Trade Target

September 27th, 2025 at 10:10pm CST by Ely Allen

Despite early reports that the Giants and quarterback Russell Wilson are expected to stay together, other expectations still persist that the veteran passer will become a trade target, per Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Injuries have not been uncommon this year, and New York has the luxury of having signed two veterans in the offseason. If needy team comes calling with a good enough offer, it will be difficult for the Giants decline.

So far, both sides have been saying all the right things. Wilson has taken his benching in stride with a dedication to “respond in the right way” and serve as his successor’s mentor. He made sure to add, though, that he’s “not done,” and while that comment could be directed at his future following the expiration of his one-year deal in New York, it may also be directed at this season.

In New Orleans, second-round rookie quarterback Tyler Shough failed to beat out incumbent starer Spencer Rattler. Now, the winless Saints sit at 29th in scoring offense and may be searching for answers. They’ll want Rattler or Shough to earn some experience and develop a bit, but if neither quarterback shows potential to take over the offense, the team may want an early look at how Wilson might fit in.

The Bengals have a ton of offensive weapons, and though a one-game sample isn’t much, interim starting quarterback Jake Browning has not looked well-equipped to utilize them so far. If there’s really a belief that Joe Burrow could return to the active roster late in the season, trading for Wilson may give Cincinnati some hope at piling together enough wins to stay in the playoff race for a run with Burrow.

Other teams have seen injuries to their starting passers, but storing experienced backups like Carson Wentz, Tyrod Taylor, Mac Jones, and Marcus Mariota have helped the Vikings, Jets, 49ers, and Commanders to avoid disaster. Not every team may be so lucky in the case that their starting quarterback goes down, and such a scenario could certainly drive a team to pick up the phone and call New York.

The motives would be clear for both sides. For any team looking to trade for Wilson, they wouldn’t be asked to cover Wilson’s entire one-year, $10.5MM deal. Since $8MM of that contract came in the form of a signing bonus, any calling team would only be responsible for covering a portion of his $2MM base salary. As for the Giants, while they have confidence in rookie first-rounder, Jaxson Dart, any doubts of failure or injury are quickly remedied by the presence of Jameis Winston, who has proven to be an effective backup in the past.

Because of these factors, Wilson stands as a superfluous asset with potential value just burning a hole in New York’s pocket. With no significant need to hold on to Wilson and the potential that some needy team could offer up valuable draft capital or more, it’s hard to picture a future in which Wilson finishes the season with Big Blue.

No Giants-Russell Wilson Split Expected

September 24th, 2025 at 10:15pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Giants will be starting rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart in Week 4, but their move toward the future is not expected to drive Russell Wilson out of New York.

Head coach Brian Daboll saidthat he expects Wilson to be the backup quarterback for the rest of the season, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. A parting of ways via a release or a trade is not under consideration. Wilson also shut down any talk of such a move.

“I’m focused on helping this team win. I’m focused on helping Jaxson,” he said on Wednesday (via Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic). “I want to be here. I love this organization.”

The Giants’ quarterback switch will naturally lead to trade speculation regarding Wilson, especially with quarterback injuries piling up around the league. But if neither side is interested in parting ways, it would take some significant interest to pry the 36-year-old out of New York. Given that his 78.5 passer rating is eighth-worst among QBs with at least 40 passing attempts to start the year, such an aggressive suitor is unlikely to come calling.

Wilson has also been in the NFL long enough to know that his early-season benching does not necessarily mean that he’ll be riding the pine for the rest of the year. The Giants originally planned to bring Dart along slowly but accelerated their timeline due to his progression and Wilson’s regression. If he struggles to get settled on the field, a coaching staff that’s rumored to be on the hot seat could get antsy and go back to their proven veteran.

In other words, there’s always a place for a quarterback with Wilson’s experience and pedigree on a team desperate for a solution under center.

Giants To Start QB Jaxson Dart In Week 4

September 24th, 2025 at 11:40am CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 24: As should be expected given Dart’s first-round pedigree, Daboll confirmed (via the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy) the intention is for Dart to start for the rest of the season. Wilson will be the confirmed backup, with Daboll adding (via Dunleavy) he made the call to bench the 14th-year veteran.

The Giants proceeded this way with Daniel Jones after he replaced Eli Manning in Week 3 of the 2019 season, and they made a full-on transition to Manning in Week 11 (in place of Kurt Warner) of the 2004 slate. With Wilson on a one-year contract and the Giants at 0-3, this change will give Dart a long runway to develop in Daboll’s offense.

SEPTEMBER 23: 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.

Brian Daboll Not Committing To Russell Wilson For Week 4

September 22nd, 2025 at 11:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Even as Russell Wilson exited Week 2 with the NFL’s top passing yardage total, boos rang out at MetLife Stadium during the Giants’ Sunday-night loss. Some cheers emerged for Jaxson Dart as well. A large sect of Giants fans may be close to seeing the desired QB switch occur.

Brian Daboll shut down reporters’ inquiries into the Giants’ quarterback situation postgame, and on Monday, the fourth-year HC still refused to back Wilson for a Week 4 start. Daboll’s staff is “evaluating everything” when asked about a potential Wilson-for-Dart move.

“Yeah, I’m not saying who’s starting or who’s not starting,” Daboll said, via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. “I’m just saying we’re evaluating everything right now. We’re going through the tape from [Week 3], and we’re evaluating every position right now.”

This catch-all answer certainly falls in the heart of the coach-speak lexicon, but as Raanan points out, Daboll’s response is similar to the one he gave before the Giants benched Daniel Jones last November. The Giants benched Jones following a loss to the Panthers in Germany, but they had a bye week to make that move — one that featured salary implications. New York’s bye this season does not arrive until Week 14, and no real salary issues are at play with Wilson.

When Dart is deemed ready, he almost definitely will be plugged into the starting lineup. Wilson has long been a placeholder, and even as false hopes of the potential Hall of Famer holding off the first-round pick throughout the season were floated, it was difficult to expect the starter — especially as Daboll and GM Joe Schoen reside on hot seats — to stave off a challenge from a player this power structure traded up for in the draft. While this would certainly be considered a quick hook, Daboll and Schoen would seemingly not want to go down without at least seeing what their overdue investment can do.

After all, Daboll and Schoen moved closer to the chopping block after a failed trade-up effort (for Drake Maye) led to Jones being given one more chance. As expected, that backfired as the Giants started 2-8. Ditching all their QBs from last season once Tommy DeVito was waived, the Giants rebooted around two vets (Wilson and Jameis Winston) mentoring Dart. The Giants have not made Winston, who is on a two-year contract (with Wilson on a one-year pact), available in trades.

The Ole Miss alum has been used as a package player over the past two weeks, working as a rushing option — with no pass attempts yet. Dart leapfrogged Winston on Big Blue’s depth chart before the season began, and rumors about an earlier-than-expected debut loomed after a rough Wilson Week 1 outing. The former No. 1 overall pick being given a chance before Dart would generate confusion at this point, though the high-variance passer being plugged in to provide a spark should not be entirely dismissed due to having made 87 career starts.

Daboll specified New York’s passing attack was the top area in need of improvement, Raanan adds. That is an interesting stance to take considering Wilson’s 450-yard performance in Dallas, but long-range interceptions have become a problem for the 14th-year passer. Two such misfires occurred against the Chiefs, inviting the prospect of Wilson being benched ahead of the Giants’ Week 4 game against the Chargers. While the Bolts have proven to feature a formidable defense, a Dart debut in New Orleans in Week 5 has always loomed as possible. Sunday could be Wilson’s last stand as an NFL starter.

Viewed as a player who needed some developmental time behind Wilson, Dart impressed during the preseason. Wilson has also changed teams three times since 2022 and needed to wait for Aaron Rodgers to rule out the Giants before receiving a chance. At this rate, the former Super Bowl winner may join Eli Manning as one of the more interesting Hall of Fame cases in recent NFL history; a starting job would seemingly be hard to come by for the declining vet (37 in November) come 2026. Should the Giants hold off on benching the 202-start player or go with the rookie in Week 4?

HC Brian Daboll, DC Shane Bowen On Hot Seats?

September 19th, 2025 at 10:23pm CST by Ely Allen

Coming into the season, rumors were already hinting that Giants head coach Brian Daboll‘s seat was starting to heat up with pressure to win. An 0-2 start to the year has done nothing to cool things off, and according to Tony Pauline of sportskeeda, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen may be starting to feel the heat, as well. Pauline’s sources claim that both coaches are “hanging on by a thread.”

Daboll started his career as a head coach on a strong note, going 9-7-1 in 2022 — good for 3rd in the NFC East and a wild card spot in the playoffs, where his team defeated a 13-4 Vikings squad before falling to the Eagles. The next year, a season-ending injury to Daniel Jones derailed New York’s offense, while the defense, despite a high efficiency on third downs, struggled as the sixth-worst unit in the NFL. The resulting 6-11 record led the Giants and then-defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to part ways.

Bowen came in to replace Martindale, fresh off three seasons in the same role in Tennessee. In his first season with Big Blue last year, Bowen’s defense showed improvement, ranking 21st in scoring allowed and eighth in passing yards allowed. In 2025 so far, no defense has given up more yards through their first two games. If things don’t change soon, both Bowen and Daboll could find themselves in danger of becoming the first coaching casualties of the young season.

So, how might things change? Pauline’s sources point to the quarterback position. Unfortunately for starting passer Russell Wilson, despite his 450-yard Week 2 performance, the fate of his starting role could be tied to the security of Daboll and Bowen’s jobs.

Per Pauline, if an expected rout by the Chiefs takes place this weekend at the Meadowlands, rookie first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart may find himself running on the first-team offense as soon as next weekend, when the Chargers come to town. If the presumed bad result against the Chiefs doesn’t boost Dart to the starting role in time for Los Angeles, Pauline’s sources claim Dart should be starting in time for a Week 5 trip to New Orleans at the latest.

If a change at quarterback is as guaranteed as they seem to be implying, it may behoove the team to make the move sooner, rather than later. While the Saints would, perhaps, be a softer test for Dart, the stretch of games immediately following sees matchups with the Eagles (twice), Broncos, 49ers, Bears, Packers, and Lions, who all could make life tough for a first-year starter. With that in mind, it may be smart to get Dart incorporated into the starting lineup with as much time to get up to speed as possible.

Of course, this is all speculation at the moment. Currently, Daboll’s fate is in the hands of Wilson, who led the Steelers to a playoff appearance just last year. Things haven’t gone according to plan so far, but Daboll may view Wilson’s experience as his best chance at turning around the season. If things continue to go poorly, though, showing potential for improvement behind a younger arm may be his only chance at saving his job. As for Bowen, his job may be fully dependent on the defense’s ability to turn things around against a grueling upcoming slate of games.

Giants Prefer To Keep Russell Wilson In Place As Starting QB

September 13th, 2025 at 9:25pm CST by Adam La Rose

Throughout the offseason, questions have lingered about how long Russell Wilson will remain atop the Giants’ quarterback depth chart. The Super Bowl winner will get the nod for Week 2, but Jaxson Dart looms as a replacement option.

Wilson and the Giants’ offense endured a highly unproductive outing during a season-opening loss. Head coach Brian Daboll confirmed the 36-year-old will start tomorrow against the Cowboys, although it was reported this week Dart’s strong summer performances could accelerate the timeline for him to take over. Indeed, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Dallas has prepared a defensive package in case the first-round rookie sees time on Sunday.

The Giants’ preference, though, would be to keep Wilson on the field as much as possible. Per Fowler’s colleague Adam Schefter, there is “no sense of urgency” on the part of the Giants to make a quarterback change. That stance is especially understandable with left tackle Andrew Thomas in line to miss tomorrow’s game. It would come as little surprise if New York waited until the veteran blindside blocker was healthy to consider starting Dart.

After selecting edge rusher Abdul Carter third overall, the Giants traded back into the first round to select Dart. The Ole Miss product was the second signal-caller off the board, and he entered the NFL with upside based on his college production but questions about his ability to quickly acclimate to the pro game. With Wilson and fellow free agent addition Jameis Winston in place, Dart could afford to sit for a large portion of the campaign. On the other hand, of course, Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen are on shaky ground with respect to their job security.

With pressure no doubt mounting as it pertains to a change on the sidelines and/or in the front office, Dianna Russini of The Athletic confirms (subscription required) Dart taking over at some point is “on the table.” He has a number of supporters within the organization, per Russini. That could lead to a QB change relatively soon depending in large part on how Wilson performs.

On the open market, Wilson took a one-year pact, meaning his future will be linked to his ability to remain atop the depth chart and deliver consistent play under center. Thomas coming back into the fold would be a key development, but in any case the possibility of Dart receiving the reins will continue to make for an interesting storyline to follow.

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