Reporter names 'most likely' Giants QB option between Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson

On Tuesday morning, ESPN's Jordan Raanan shared that Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings and Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers "are believed to be near the top of the" New York Giants' list of potential quarterback options amid rumors linking the team with current New York Jets signal-caller Aaron Rodgers.

Later in the day, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News mentioned that Darnold is not the type of "placeholder" quarterback the Giants are looking for this offseason. 

"All of the Giants' factors here seem to point more to Wilson, 36, as the most likely fit with a high rookie quarterback pick," Leonard added. "Especially considering that Wilson visited the Giants last year as a free agent and probably would have signed here if they had been able to guarantee him the starting job over [Daniel Jones]."

Wilson had what was described as "an exploratory meeting" with the Giants shortly before he signed a team-friendly deal to join the Steelers last March. He then served as a mentor for backup Justin Fields during springtime workouts, when Wilson was sidelined for the opening six weeks of the 2024 regular season due to a lingering calf problem and when he was Pittsburgh's QB1 from Week 7 of the campaign through the wild-card round of the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, the Giants' interest in Rodgers was reportedly "blown a bit out of proportion" after Matthew Stafford elected to stay with the Los Angeles Rams via a reworked contract. Some feel Rodgers isn't an ideal fit for the offense run by Giants head coach Brian Daboll, and Leonard expressed doubt that the future Hall of Famer would "be willing to move to the bench early in his first Giants season if the organization wanted to start" a rookie. 

The Giants could sign a veteran after free agency officially begins when the new league year opens on March 12 and also acquire the top pick of the 2025 draft that presumably would be used to land Miami's Cam Ward. Big Blue could also hold onto the draft's third choice and hope to grab either Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders via that asset. 

It's possible that Wilson could reject the Giants to either re-sign with Pittsburgh or reunite with new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll. Such a scenario could result in the Giants and Rodgers feeling that they need each other for a season.