Russell Wilson’s offseason is the most compelling one out of all the mid-30s quarterbacks clinging to their careers. It’s not entirely clear how real the interest is from other teams, but he does appear to have options.
The whiplash from Wilson’s 10 starts at the helm of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has put his career at an intriguing crossroads. His 6-1 start of the season had every league observer forecasting his contract demands for 2025 and beyond.
Going winless over his last five games as a starter while throwing to duds killed his momentum and made it simpler to potentially move on from the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer. Now Wilson sits at an impasse.
Projections over where Wilson will end his career have varied. Running it back with the Steelers is still a possibility. At one time, he was connected to the Las Vegas Raiders, who recently hired Wilson’s longtime Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll, to head up their rebuild in 2025. Meanwhile, New Orleans is moving on from Derek Carr after benching him at the end of last season.
However, for the second time in a year, Wilson has been linked to the New York Giants as a dark horse contender for his services and it makes sense for everyone involved.
Giants offer Steelers the biggest threat for Russell Wilson in free agency
Unlike Pittsburgh, the Giants have no illusions about their ceiling in 2025. After playing their way into a top-six pick in consecutive seasons — and pushing Saquon Barkley out the door, only for him to land comfortably in Philadelphia, rush for 2,000 yards, and win a Super Bowl — the G-Men are reeling. They could benefit from the stability and mentorship Wilson offers.
New York can deliver on his preference to be a starter as he competes for the job in Week 1 against whichever rookie they bring into training camp.
Unlike Aaron Rodgers, he has been capable of tempering his ego, when Justin Fields played well enough to displace him, Wilson was a supportive cheerleader. It would be a plus if Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders can execute a turnaround as dramatic as Jayden Daniels’ in Washington, however, the 2024 Commanders are an exception, not the rule.
Wilson makes some sense as a bridge quarterback to either prospect. Sometimes, the past is a prologue. Two decades ago, the Giants turned to a washed Kurt Warner as its bridge to the Eli Manning era. In the first nine weeks of the 2004 regular season, Warner spearheaded a 5-4 start, throwing for six touchdowns and four interceptions. While Warner was benched for Manning, it turns out Warner wasn’t so washed after all. The Giants lost six of their seven games with Manning at the helm while Warner left for Arizona, leading them to a Super Bowl in 2008.
Wilson visited with the Giants in free agency a year ago, but Wilson ultimately passed on the Giants when it was made clear to him by general manager Joe Schoen that the job would be Daniel Jones’s if he was healthy for Week 1. The fit is potentially better with Jones’s albatross of a contract out of the way. While Wilson faces the possibility of being benched by a top-3 pick, the same possibility existed a year ago as well.
Besides, the prospect of throwing to Malik Nabers in a Brian Daboll offense more suited to his strengths than Arthur Smith's might be more fun.