Russell Wilson Praised for Professionalism Following Giants Demotion

Quarterback Russell Wilson is No. 3 in your New York Giants program, No. 2 on the depth chart—and No. 1 in the hearts of the coaching staff.

Wilson may be the tough luck subplot of the dawn of the Jaxson Dart era, as the touted blue rookie takes over the starting quarterback position on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

Though playing the role of the de facto odd man out, Wilson's professionalism and poise have won over professional observers as he prepares to take on a new metropolitan role.

"I think he's handled it about as well as you can, as far as being a leader," Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka noted on Thursday.

"That’s not easy for someone to do. So, I feel for him, and I think he's going to continue to be a great leader and a great person in the room and help Jaxson as best he can ... That's the kind of guy he is, and that's why we wanted him here."

Serving as a bridge to a younger, potentially lasting talent is perhaps a bitter footnote to Wilson's otherwise sterling career: he got out of Denver before the Broncos drafted Bo Nix in the opening round of the 2024 draft.

The process nearly repeated when he moved onto Pittsburgh, but he wound up beating Justin Fields for the role of primary thrower before overseeing a playoff visit.

It is, alas, for Wilson, Denver deja vu in the worst way possible after a sterling start in Dallas was sandwiched by two offensive no-shows that more or less forced the Giants' hand.

His 78.5 passer rating is fourth-worst among throwers with at least 100 attempts to their name, and calls for both a trade to a quarterback-hungry team (i.e., Cincinnati) and for Wilson to simply retire have perhaps flowed in equal volume from the football-loving public.

Wilson, however, plans to stay, believing his best role in the immediate future is to serve as Dart's mentor, much like Kurt Warner did for Eli Manning just over two decades prior. That has fully won over Kafka, who has been eager for any form of offensive consistency and production from his unit since taking over in 2022.

"Russ has been nothing but a pro," lauded Kafka. "It's never easy to get into that situation. But he's a great teammate. He's a captain of our team, and the leadership he possesses feeds through the rest of the team.

"So, he's done a really good job managing that. He's a competitor. I know he wants to be out there. But I know he's also going to help the team and do what's best for the team."

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