At this time five years ago, offering a Geno Smith comparison for then-New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston might have left those in the Bayou feeling, shall we say, quite unsettled.
Football is funny like that, though. We weren’t far off from Smith — the ex-Jets quarterback who’d since become a journeyman — setting the stage for a career resurgence by filling in for an injured Russell Wilson. Seattle saw enough to trade Wilson the following offseason and take its chances with Smith, who made two Pro Bowls before departing for the Raiders in March 2025.
What does any of this have to do with Winston, who is now in his second year as the Giants’ backup? With Jaxson Dart slated to miss at least the rest of the regular season, the ball — both figuratively and literally — is in Winston’s hands to make something special happen.
What could happen to Jameis Winston’s career if he leads the New York Giants to the playoffs?
To be clear: We’re not suggesting the Giants would trade Dart and name Winston their 2027 starter if he goes 10-5 over the next three months. Whether Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh might consider drafting a quarterback next spring is a separate and far more complicated conversation.
Smith might seem like an odd name to invoke, especially when we’re only two years removed from Sam Darnold’s miracle run in Minneapolis.
But there are two key things to consider, the first being contracts. Darnold was on a one-year deal to be J.J. McCarthy’s backup, whereas Winston signed a two-year, $13 million extension earlier this month. Maybe this is the Mandela effect talking, but we’d forgotten that Smith’s renaissance technically started on a one-year contract.
Then, there’s the age factor. Winston turns 33 in January, and Smith had just celebrated his 31st birthday when he started for the Seahawks on Oct. 17, 2021. Darnold played the entire 2024 season at 27 years old, and Case Keenum was 29 during his improbable 2017 campaign in Minnesota.
If anything, you’d think that Mac Jones offers the best comparison, seeing as the 49ers refused to trade him this past offseason. But Jones is still only 28, so his next chance to earn a starting contract should come next spring.
But for the sake of conversation, let’s say Winston plays at an above-average level until or unless Dart returns. With how desperate teams typically are for quarterbacks, what would the Browns or Falcons offer to buy high on the ex-Florida State standout? The Jets only needed to give up a sixth-round pick to land Smith and a seventh-rounder, and this was after he threw a league-leading 17 interceptions.
We’re getting a long way ahead of ourselves, and we promise we’re not trying to overreact or speak something incredible into existence. More than anything, we just want to have the conversation, just as we did when discussing potential trade targets throughout the summer.
But if Winston somehow has the Giants at 7-3 headed into Thanksgiving, then let the record show we didn’t jinx them.
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