Yes, the Giants were indeed still in play for Russell Wilson, even after signing Jameis Winston.
PFT has confirmed (not that the multiple reports required confirmation but, hey, when in #scooptown) that Wilson has agreed to terms with the Giants.
The move comes four days after the Giants and Winston agreed to a two-year deal with a total base value of $8 million.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Wilson’s one-year contract has $10.5 million guaranteed and a maximum value of $21 million. The triggers for unlocking the full value aren’t yet known.
And so the new quarterback depth chart in New York goes like this, for now: Wilson, Winston, and Tommy DeVito.
Wilson, who spent 2024 with the Steelers, visited both the Browns and the Giants. He now joins fellow former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields as the two New York QB1s. For now, at least.
The slow-moving (for now) quarterback carousel includes a veteran who is in no hurry to make a move — assuming his current team is even inclined to move him.
Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins remains a theoretical trade candidate, if the Falcons will trade him and if he’ll waive his no-trade clause.
There’s a wrinkle that relates to Cousins’s willingness to accept a trade to a new team. He wants to be sure he doesn’t get supplanted by a subsequent draft pick.
Via Albert Breer of SI.com, Cousins hopes “to avoid the situation he found himself in last April when he was blindsided by Atlanta’s decision to take Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick.” As a result, Cousins isn’t willing to take any team at their word. Instead, he wants to see what happens during the draft before deciding whether to waive the clause that prevents the Falcons’ from trading him without his permission.
None of this matters if the Falcons won’t trade Cousins. They might be truly willing to pay him $27.5 million to serve as the backup to Michael Penix Jr. in 2025.
The other question is whether a new team will take on Cousins’s full salary for 2025. If he’s going to be the starter, why wouldn’t they? And if the call comes from a team that still needs a quarterback after the draft ends, Cousins might be able to leverage a better deal from what could be, come early May, a desperate team.
So it’s smart, at this point, for Cousins to wait. As he learned the hard way last year, the quarterback deals made in March can quickly become undermined by the draft picks exercised in April.
Russell Wilson beat the Giants on a Monday night in October 2024. He might still be joining them for 2025.
Per multiple sources, Wilson remains on the Giants’ radar screen — even after the signing of Jameis Winston.
It came up because, frankly, we removed the Giants from the list of teams looking for veteran quarterbacks. In response to our assessment that the Giants won’t be pursuing another veteran signal-caller, one source explained that Winston was signed to be the backup quarterback. And that Wilson should not be ruled out.
“They are as much/more looking for a veteran starter than the Browns, definitely more than Vikings,” the source said.
The source added that the Giants technically remain in the mix for Aaron Rodgers, but that it currently “seems unlikely” he’ll go there. (Or, even more technically, stay there.)
Regardless, the Winston deal (at $4 million per year) isn’t a QB1 contract. We thought it meant Winston will be the bridge to a younger guy. He might end up being the understudy to another veteran.
And that veteran still could be Russell Wilson.
With quarterback Jameis Winston joining the Giants, the group of teams looking for veteran signal-callers is shrinking.
It’s down to three obvious teams: Steelers, Browns, and Vikings.
Others could be looking for veterans, too. But those are the main three.
And the most obvious candidates are Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, Ryan Tannehill (apparently), and Carson Wentz, who has been linked to the Browns.
Also, don’t rule out a potential Kirk Cousins trade.
Rodgers looms over everything, but as the Winston signing shows some teams are willing to move on. And with the Browns not linked to Rodgers at all (for now), they can move on Wilson or Wentz or whoever they want.
Regardless, the carousel is still spinning. And some big names are still waiting. Or keeping us waiting. Or some of both.
UPDATE 12:00 p.m. ET, 3/23/25: In response to this item, we’ve heard from multiple sources that the Giants remain in play for Russell Wilson.
With Miami quarterback Cam Ward widely expected to go to the Titans with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter has solidified his status to go second overall.
Carter is a -125 favorite to go second overall at DraftKings. Ward is a -700 favorite to go first overall.
Barring a trade, the Browns will be picking second, and pairing Carter with Myles Garrett would give the Browns perhaps the most talented defensive end tandem in the NFL. It would also, however, leave open the question of who the Browns’ quarterback of the future is.
That leads to the player with the next-best odds to go No. 2 overall, Colorado quaterback Shedeur Sanders. Ward is listed a +600 to go second overall. It’s unlikely he’ll be available.
The only other player who appears to have a realistic shot at going No. 2 overall is Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, who is listed at +650.
The long shots are Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, all listed at +4000.
The two teams in the country’s biggest market will be paying bargain-basement salaries to their veteran quarterbacks.
For the Jets and Justin Fields, the two-year, $40 million deal puts him at the bottom of the list of starters not playing under rookie contracts. For the Giants and Jameis Winston, the base deal is 20 percent of that.
Via multiple reports, it’s two years and $8 million for Winston.
While he can reportedly double it with incentives, the base deal cries out “bridge” quarterback. And it puts the Giants in play to take a quarterback as early as No. 3 in the draft.
If they do, it would most likely be Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. That assumes the Browns won’t take Sanders with the second overall pick.
Regardless of whether it happens in round one or. round two — or if the Giants trade back into the bottom of the first round — it’s looking like they’ll be pairing Winston with a rookie, based on the value of the contract Winston has signed.
And if they don’t, the Giants will have gotten a major bargain with Winston. Then again, it’s basically the same deal he did last year in Cleveland, where he signed a one-year, $4 million deal with up to $4.7 million in incentives.
The Browns have agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Jerome Baker, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Baker recently visited Cleveland.
Baker began last season with the Seahawks and started the first five games of the year before being traded to the Titans. He appeared in five more games for Tennessee.
He finished the season with 61 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 566 defensive snaps between his two stops.
Baker spent his first six seasons with the Dolphins after they made him a third-round pick. He had 587 tackles, 22.5 sacks, five interceptions, six forced fumbles and a fumble recovery during his time in Miami.
The Giants are done waiting on Aaron Rodgers.
With Rodgers visiting Pittsburgh on Friday, the Giants have signed veteran quarterback Jameis Winston. Winston has confirmed the NFL Media report.
He joined Tommy DeVito as the only two quarterbacks on the Giants’ roster. They’ll surely add more, possibly through the draft.
Winston recently visited the Giants, along with veterans Russell Wilson and Joe Flacco.
The first pick in the 2015 draft, Winston spent five years with the Buccaneers, four with the Saints, and one with the Browns. He has 105 regular-season appearances with 87 starts. His record as a starter is 36-51.
Winston has thrown 154 touchdown passes, with 111 interceptions.
He has become an engaging and colorful personality. He might be the kick in the ass the Giants need.
The move most likely removed the Giants from the running for Aaron Rodgers, limiting his option to the Steelers, maybe the Vikings, and possibly retirement.
The Browns traded for Kenny Pickett earlier this month, but they are expected to continue adding to the quarterback position in the coming weeks.
They could add a veteran option like Russell Wilson, they could pick up a rookie early in next month’s draft or do both as they move forward without any plans for Deshaun Watson to be a factor due to his twice-torn Achilles. The Browns have the second overall pick to use on a quarterback, but they also have the 33rd overall selection and seven other picks to use as trade chips that open up different paths toward adding a potential quarterback of the future.
Louisville’s Tyler Shough could be at the end of one of those paths and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports he is scheduled to visit with the team in Cleveland. Shough has also spoken with the Steelers.
Shough spent three seasons at Oregon and three seasons at Texas Tech before playing at Louisville in 2024, so his experience will likely be seen as a plus after Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix took similar routes through college ahead of strong rookie seasons. Slough wasn’t as successful throughout his time on the college level, but the need for quarterbacks gives him a good chance of coming off the board before the second night of the draft is over.
Linebacker Jerome Baker’s search for a new team has taken him to Cleveland.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Baker is visiting with the Browns. The Browns have also signed guard Teven Jenkins and cornerback Tony Brown on Thursday.
Baker began last season with the Seahawks and started the first five games of the year before being traded to the Titans. He appeared in five more games for Tennessee and finished the year with 61 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery across the two stops.
Baker spent his first six seasons with the Dolphins and had 587 tackles, 22.5 sacks, five interceptions, six forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery during his time in Miami.
