With the Brian Daboll era now over in New York, interim head coach Mike Kafka made his first major decision as the leading man for the Giants.
Kafka announced on Wednesday that he plans to start Jameis Winston when the Giants face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, with Jaxson Dart still in concussion protocol. The decision is notable, as Kafka chose to bypass Russell Wilson, who started the team’s first three games and even played in the fourth quarter of Big Blue’s crushing loss to the Chicago Bears this past Sunday
As Winston prepares to show what he's made of in his first start of the season, Wilson took the high road
Giants' Russell Wilson takes the high road when asked about being demoted to QB3
Wilson met with reporters on Wednesday and when he was asked about Winston getting the nod over him, the veteran signal-caller did not want to create any controversy.
"Obviously, I want to play, but Jameis has worked his butt off to give him a great opportunity, Wilson said. "He's a guy that's played in this league for a long time and he's one of my closest friends."
Since being traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos during the 2022 season, Wilson has not been the elite quarterback he's been known as since he took the league by storm as a rookie in 2012.
The 36-year-old strung together two dreadful seasons in Denver that came to an abrupt end during the 2023 season, even after signing a lucrative five-year, $245 million contract extension. While Wilson was able to show some impressive flashes last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, his one-and-done tenure in the Steel City came to an end after losing his final five games as the starter, including in the Wild Card Round against the Baltimore Ravens.
And after signing a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the G-MEN this past offseason, aside from a lucrative 450-yard game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, he's done anything but cook as a starter for New York, resulting in him getting booed in front of the home crowd.
Since leaving the Seahawks, Wilson’s career has taken a steep decline, as he’s played for three different teams in six seasons. Is that hurting his Hall of Fame chances? It’s still too early to say, but he can at least hold his head high for taking the high road after being demoted in favor of Winston