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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Former NFL GM Makes Bold Statement About NY Giants' Starting Quarteback Decision

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Stephen Lebitsch | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Whenever any member of the New York Giants organization was polled about the current state of the team’s quarterback room heading into the 2025 season, one couldn’t have been handed a better collection of responses filled with hope for their most important position group.

That’s because it wasn’t that long ago that the franchise had a total laughing stock of a muddle in their quarterback arsenal, and the evidence was clear in the inability of the Giants' offense to produce much on the scoreboard and push the ball through the air to anyone not named Malik Nabers.

After a major offseason overhaul that brought in two veterans, Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and a bright young rookie, Jaxson Dart, the outlook surrounding the Giants' helm has started to shift dramatically within the walls of East Rutherford and the broader league.

Head coach Brian Daboll ensured that all three signal callers remained prepared and saw at least a modest sample size of action in the preseason. Each relatively impressed those watching in the fan base and the competition, as the offense scored 30+ points in all three games and looked fairly fluid despite going against second and third units.

Nevertheless, the belief is starting to grow that the trio, led by Wilson, who has long been slated to be the Week 1 starter against Washington, will help the Giants’ contention hopes get back on track in 2025, before the Dart era is expected to begin in the following year.

However, in some smaller football circles, there are still loud doubts being expressed about whether the Giants have set themselves up for success in the short term by ordering their quarterback room in advance of the first regular-season game.

Former NFL GM and current ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum is the latest person shouting at the sky that the acclimation period for Dart needs to be cut short, or at best, accelerated by throwing him into the starting job as soon as possible and forgetting the promise made to Wilson.

“Jaxson Dart, how soon does he start? If it were up to me, it would have been three months ago,” Tannenbaum said on SportsCenter, as transcribed by NJ Advance Media.

“He has outplayed Russell Wilson. He is the best quarterback on the New York Giants. Every game he doesn’t start is, to me, not giving them the best chance to win. He has played with energy. He has played with enthusiasm. Knows what to do. I think he should start.”

Mark Smith-Imagn Images

While Tannenbaum’s statement is nothing short of a bold one, in the spirit of fairness, we understand the reason why many football minds have gotten sucked into the possibility of Dart entering the starting equation earlier than the regime has set forth.

In three preseason appearances, Dart was electric for a rookie gunslinger, seeing his first taste of inter-team action on the professional gridiron. He flashed a solid display of poise in the pocket and athleticism to extend plays and even take off with the ball a couple of times for big runs in open space.

Most importantly, he was able to march the Giants' offense downfield several times and protect the football, tallying four combined touchdowns as they found the end zone more times than they probably did in half of last season.

Wilson was only able to secure a six-point score once with the first unit in his preseason possessions, leaving some to wonder if the peak version of the Super Bowl-winning quarterback had officially passed him, and the most talented answer lived in the budding arm of his rookie teammate.

Again, those folks pleading for Dart can yell for his early appearance all they want, as Daboll and the Giants continue to stick to the plan for their arms that they’ve had all summer heading into the season.

That is for Wilson, who they believe is still in a form capable of resurrecting an offense that had little to no explosive range last season and being the catalyst with his classic moonballs, to carry the No. 1 spot as far as he can take it into a slate that is ranked the hardest strength of schedule in the entire league.

But short of that happening, Wilson has shown enough that he is still a sharp passer and decision maker with the ball in his hands, and his teammates have spoken countless times about believing in him and what the veteran’s vast experience as a playoff winner and Super Bowl champion can bring to their young huddle this season.

Daboll knows what he has brewing in his latest quarterback prodigy, but isn’t going to pull back the promise made to Wilson and not give him his fair shot to make things happen with his new unit of playmakers.

If all goes well, he knows he’ll be back in the building for the 2026 season and then have his shot to start showing off how Dart’s training has progressed with the training wheels coming off of him.

On the other hand, if it doesn’t, it’s still fair for critics like Tannenbaum to watch and see if Dart’s fast-paced introduction speeds up the leash that Wilson gets from the Giants to stack up enough wins.

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This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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