Jameis Winston embracing role with Giants amid development of Jaxson Dart

Jameis Winston agreed to join the New York Giants in March before the club signed presumed starter Russell Wilson and before New York made promising signal-caller Jaxson Dart the 25th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

While speaking with reporters at the Giants' mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Winston addressed the fact that he could be his team's QB3 by the time Labor Day rolls around. 

"...I focus on what I can do," Winston directly said, as shared by Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. "And what I can do is come to work with the intention to get better every single day. Not concerning myself with the room, seeing how I can serve the room, but my job is to be the best Jameis Winston that I can be. And Jameis Winston incorporates being a leader, peppering on the young buck, learning things from the older veterans, assisting the older veterans, learning from the three-year quarterback that’s been in this room (Tommy DeVito). It encompasses a lot. But I stay focused on what I would love, and what I would love is to be my very best."

While some have suggested Winston should receive an opportunity to earn the Big Blue starting job during training camp, The Athletic's Dan Duggan noted that "any thought of a quarterback competition entering the spring has been put to rest" ahead of the Giants' summer break. Wilson exclusively took first-team reps during springtime practices open to media members. Duggan added that Winston was "the most erratic of the quarterbacks, with overthrows a recurrent issue" through Tuesday's drills. 

Turnovers have been a mainstay of what's been referred to over the years as "the full Jameis Winston experience." He tossed 13 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions over seven starts and 12 games with the Cleveland Browns last season. Cleveland lost five of those starts. 

"When I first came into this league, I wasn’t looked upon as a man of high character. I wasn’t looked upon as that team-oriented guy," Winston added during his comments, per Tom Rock of Newsday. "There was this perception of me that just wasn’t true. Through the course of diving in and growing every single year, I have proven myself to be who I am. That is the greatest compliment that someone can give you is that you are truly who you are."

The Giants seemingly hope Winston will be a true mentor for Dart throughout the upcoming season, even if doing so means being third on the depth chart for some time. A team that loses a starter to an injury may eventually try to acquire Winston, but there's no sign any club is in a rush to trade for his services in the final days of spring.