Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson didn’t begin the 2024 season as the Pittsburgh Steelers starter because of a calf injury. But he finished the season as the team’s starter.
The 2025 campaign, though, could be the other way around for the New York Giants new quarterback.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay included Wilson on a list of the top five quarterbacks “most likely to lose their starting job during the 2025 season.”
“Wilson can’t afford a slow start due to [rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart’s] presence,” Kay wrote. “He’ll also have to shake the stink of last season—one that ended with him losing each of his last five starts including a blowout defeat in the Wild Card Round—and get back to playing the type of high-level football he displayed regularly during his decade-long tenure with the Seahawks.
“While Wilson did make the Pro Bowl last season, the honor rang hollow and was more of a testament to the lack of available QBs for the all-star game.”
Wilson led the Steelers to a 6-5 regular season mark with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions last season. But the team lost his last four regular season starts and suffered an embarrassing playoff loss in the AFC wild card round.
Jaxson Dart Trending in Right Direction for Giants
Kay included Wilson on his list of quarterbacks most likely to be benched on July 27. At that time, Jaxson Dart was having a strong training camp.
That has mostly continued since Kay’s analysis. NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky reported Saturday that August 2 was one of Dart’s worst training camp practices. But before that, Dart was progressing well.
“The 22-year-old Giants rookie had put together a string of six rock solid — and even some great — practices in a row, but came back to Earth on Saturday, completing just 46% of his passes and tossing just one touchdown to Jordan Bly (and even that might have been dropped),” wrote Novozinsky.
Despite that progress, Novozinsky argued Dart is not yet ready to compete with Wilson. But it’s not a stretch to suggest as Kay did that Dart will hold the starting job at some point in 2025.
It’s rather rare in today’s NFL for first-round quarterbacks not to receive a starting opportunity during their rookie seasons. Unless the Giants are competing for a playoff berth, it’s likely New York will want to get Dart in-game snaps at some point during 2025.
Russell Wilson & Giants Crowded QB Room
The Cleveland Browns quarterback room, which features four signal-callers, including two rookies, has received more headlines. The Giants quarterback room, though, is similarly crowded.
In addition to Wilson and Dart, the Giants have veteran Jameis Winston and fan-favorite Tommy DeVito on the roster.
Wilson doesn’t face as much competition to start for the Giants this season as Cleveland’s Joe Flacco. But Wilson is New York’s Flacco in a sense. He’s the short-term place-holder behind center until the team’s rookie is ready.
With the Steelers last season, Wilson showcased he can still effectively throw the deep ball. But he’s not great at reading defenses, and he doesn’t have the same speed as a scrambler he once did.
Over the past three seasons, Wilson has taken 133 sacks in 41 games. He had 33 sacks in 11 games with Pittsburgh during 2024.
Behind a subpar Giants offensive line, that could be an issue. The more hits the 36-year-old sustains, the higher possibility New York is going to need to replace Wilson simply because of an injury.
That doesn’t mean the Giants will turn to Dart. But an injury is one scenario where Wilson could lose his starting job this fall.
