After crumbling down the stretch of the 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Russell Wilson was given a shot at redemption by the New York Giants. Unfortunately, the 36-year-old quarterback may already be in the hot seat. The Giants traded back into the first round for Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, and the latest report suggests it's a matter of 'when, not if' Wilson loses his starting job.
Brian Daboll seems to be infatuated with the idea of getting Dart involved during his rookie season, and how long Wilson holds onto his starting job largely depends on his performance.
Unfortunately, there's one major obstacle standing in his way: a brutal early-season schedule that shows no mercy.
Assuming Wilson will be the starter when the season opens up on September 7, the Giants will be on the road against their NFC East rival, the Washington Commanders. This team will be led by 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, who led his team to a 12-5 record and a second-place finish in the division last year.
From the Week 1 road opener, Wilson and the Giants will travel to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. This time around, Dak Prescott will be under center after missing nine games last season, and he'll have a new weapon in George Pickens to throw to.
In Wilson's first home game in New York, the aging quarterback will be tasked with taking on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs before turning around and hosting a Jim Harbaugh-led Los Angeles Chargers team in Week 4.
After a winable road game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, the Giants will be forced to take on the Eagles at home, the Broncos on the road, the Eagles a second time (but on the road), and the 49ers at home. Oh, and if that's not challenging enough, the Giants will face the Bears, Packers, and Lions in three straight weeks in November, all before a bye that doesn't come until Week 14.
Russell Wilson is screwed before the New York Giants' 2025 season even begins
If you've watched Russell Wilson in recent years with the Broncos and Steelers, it's hard to buy that he's anything more than an average starting quarterback, even on his best day. But everyone should agree that Wilson is walking straight into an unavoidable trap because of the early-season schedule the NFL handed the Giants.
While the Giants improved their roster this season and added potentially the best defensive player in the 2025 draft class in Abdul Carter, their woes aren't going to magically disappear when facing one of the league's most daunting schedules.
Heck, there's a chance that 10 of the first 12 games the New York Giants will play this season will come against playoff teams. So what does this mean for Wilson, and how long could he last before handing over his starting job?
This is difficult to gauge. If things go very poorly for Wilson in the first month of the season, the Giants have a high-variance veteran QB they can turn to with loads of starting experience in Jameis Winston. If Wilson is proving capable of managing the offense while helping to develop young players like Malik Nabers—even if New York is still losing—a switch may not come until closer to the bye week.
The last thing Daboll should do is throw his 22-year-old rookie quarterback to the wolves. Jaxson Dart is raw and could use all the time he could get to adjust to this offense.
As unfortunate as it is, Russell Wilson signed up for a no-win situation when he inked a one-year $10.5 million deal with the New York Giants this offseason, and it's difficult to envision a scenario where things go well for him in 2025.