Should Giants let Jameis Winston compete with Russell Wilson for starting QB job?

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have insisted throughout the spring that Russell Wilson will enter training camp as the team's starting quarterback over fellow veteran Jameis Winston and rookie Jaxson Dart.

For an article published on Monday, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News suggested Wilson didn't do much during on-the-field drills throughout voluntary springtime workouts to have the Week 1 QB1 job guaranteed to him ahead of the Giants' summer break. 

"So far this spring, with Wilson at quarterback, the Giants’ first-team defense has looked like a much better unit than the offense," Leonard wrote. "...The Giants offense’s operation with Wilson has not been smooth or consistently productive or explosive in any of the open practice sessions yet. And that’s coming off a season when they ranked 30th in the NFL, scoring 16.1 points per game, having altered almost no personnel from that unit other than the QBs."

Wilson signed a team-friendly one-year contract to join the Giants in March, and he's coming off a five-game losing streak that essentially ensured the Pittsburgh Steelers would go in a different direction at the position this offseason. Thus, the Giants have no real obligation to keep Wilson atop the depth chart if he leaves much to be desired with his performances in training camp and the preseason. 

Winston, 31, likely isn't a long-term answer for any team at this point in his career. Last season, he offered the Cleveland Browns what is often referred to as "the full Jameis Winston experience." Over seven starts and 12 games, he tossed 13 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. The Browns lost five of Winston's seven starts. 

That said, the Giants seemingly want to let Dart develop as a backup throughout at least a portion of the upcoming season. One wonders if that reality could cause Daboll to think about starting Winston for the Week 5 game at the New Orleans Saints if Big Blue enters that contest at 1-3 or 0-4. 

Winston played for the Saints from 2020 through the 2023 campaign.

"Winston, meanwhile, is the big-play hunter. The gunslinger. The veteran who likes to let it rip," Leonard explained. "...If chasing explosive plays is what Daboll and the Giants are after...it’s hard to understand how Winston won’t receive an early call in the bullpen if he remains on the team come the fall."

It's believed Giants co-owner John Mara could fire Schoen and/or Daboll if the team endures a third-straight losing season. Unless Daboll and Co. truly believe current QB4 Tommy DeVito could win some games this fall, Winston should be given a chance to replace a struggling Wilson sooner rather than later.