Russell Wilson emerges as early favorite to start for Giants at quarterback

Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is entering his 14th season in the NFL and is now playing for his fourth team. Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos three years ago, but he only lasted two before getting released. From there, he spent one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing another one-year deal with the New York Giants, worth a reported $10.5 million max.

Wilson is now pretty far removed from his prime years with the Seahawks (2015-2020) but it appears that he's in the lead for at least one last job as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

According to Charlotte Carroll at The Athletic, Russ appears to be New York's new QB1 at the team's initial OTAs practices.

"Wilson emerged as the early starting favorite in Wednesday’s first look, earning the most first-team reps — no surprise given Daboll said as much earlier this spring... While Wilson got the majority of the first-team reps Wednesday, Winston and Dart each had some sprinkled in."

While Jameis Winston had his moments with the Cleveland Browns last year, he's too erratic to lead a team as a starter for an entire season, making Wilson the logical favorite to start Week 1.

However, the real threat to Wilson is rookie Jaxson Dart out of Ole Miss, who the Giants picked in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft at No. 25 oveall. Dart was a late riser in the pre-draft process, finishing as the consensus third-best QB prospect in this class behind Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Dart's game may be raw like most rookies, but he has enough ability to threaten Wilson in Year 1 - especially if things don't start out well for the Giants. If that happens, then head coach Brian Daboll's seat will finally start to get radioactive hot - and the only way he might be able to stave off getting fired is by starting Dart down the sretch. If Dart shows real progress it could be enough to save Daboll's job, at least for another year.

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