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?