The New York Giants signed Jameis Winston to their quarterback room this offseason hoping that he could be a solid backup for the team in 2025. With Russell Wilson and first-round rookie Jaxson Dart both in the fold as well, Winston has his work cut out for him if he wants to stick around on the roster.
That doesn't mean his teammates aren't enjoying having him around though. It's pretty well-known throughout the league that Winston is a bit of an odd ball and if his Giants teammates didn't know that before minicamp, they seem to be aware of it now.
While speaking to the media, Darius Slayton was asked about Winston and went into detail about how the guy's random thoughts are wildly entertaining.
"It's like how I'm talking right now, he'd be talking just like this, and it's just the random thoughts that come to his head," Slayton said. "We were talking about a slant, how did we get to Kentucky Fried Chicken? It's hard lefts, I can't think of an exact example but that's how best I can describe it."
Jameis Winston is showing off how oddly unique he is in minicamp
Winston has always been a bit of a strange guy. While he was with Tampa, he went viral for the "eating the W" pep talk he gave his Bucs teammates in a game against the Saints. That's still probably the weirdest thing he's done during his pro career but it's good to see the guy hasn't lost that strange charisma that makes him so endearing to his teammates.
Winston, the number one overall pick by the Buccaneers in 2015, spent five years in Tampa as the starting quarterback before turning the page to the next chapter of his career, which was as a backup. He backed up Drew Brees in New Orleans before Brees retired, then briefly took over as the Saints starter before transitioning back into the QB2 role, a spot that's been mostly pretty good for him.
In 2024, Winston ended up starting seven games for the Browns and then this offseason, he joined the Giants. Originally people thought he might have a shot to win the QB1 job but with Wilson and Dart both in town now, the best he can hope for is a backup job. Maybe he gets into the action at some point but that's likely meant something has gone terribly wrong for the Giants at the quarterback spot.
As long as Winston is on the team, it sounds like there will be plenty of odd conversations to be had.