Wilson's gravitas has also extended to how Daboll structured practice this spring, which has included more 7-on-7 reps.
"I think it's important to listen to the quarterbacks," Daboll said. "They're the ones that are touching the ball on every play. Certainly, he has a lot of accolades behind his playing career and experience, it's been good. And Jameis (Winston) has as well, and (Tommy) DeVito, and even Jaxson (Dart), when you're in that room and you're talking to those guys, they see things from a wide scope perspective and bring things up and there's a lot of good communication. So, I think it's important to really talk and communicate and listen to any of the quarterbacks. But Russ has been good for us, I'd say, in a number of ways since he's been out here."
Speaking of that quarterback room, Slayton had the best description of it yet: "It is an interesting compilation of individuals, but Jameis and Russ are that veteran presence. Jameis is a wild card though, just as a human being. So having his personality around is amazing, but also, they both have great presence and leadership about them. You see the – age is probably a little rude. The seasoning in both of them, the veteran leadership they both have. And also you have Dart, kind of the young kid, he's kind of learning to find his way, but he has two good mentors to learn from."
**Giants to hold home & away joint practices with Jets: 'Good for both teams…good for the fanbase'**
The Giants and Jets will meet for two joint practices this summer, one at each team's respective training facility, ahead of their annual preseason game at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 16 (7 p.m. ET).
While the time and dates are still to be determined, the Giants will host one of the joint practices at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and the Jets will welcome them 30 miles west in Florham Park.
This is the third time the Giants and Jets will practice with each other in Daboll's four seasons. The Giants hosted in 2022, the first time the interconference foes met on the practice field in 17 years. The Jets then returned the favor heading into the 2024 campaign.
It will be the fifth round of joint practices overall under Daboll. The Giants also practiced with the Lions in 2023 (in Detroit) and 2024 (in East Rutherford) ahead of their preseason matchups. The Lions' defensive coordinator at the time was Aaron Glenn, who is now the first-year head coach of the Jets.
"I have a good relationship with AG," Daboll said. "Known him for a long time. Obviously, he was with Detroit the last couple years and him and I have a good working relationship, a good personal relationship as well. It was good to sit down and kind of iron through some of the things that we wanted to get done, logistics of it. We're going to do one practice at their place. We're going to do a practice here. We thought that would be good for both teams. Kind of traveling a little bit, good for the fan base. So, it was really easy to work with AG and those are competitive days and good for the team."
The Giants open the preseason in Buffalo on Saturday, Aug. 9 (1 p.m.). They will be the "home" team against the Jets on Aug. 16 before hosting the Patriots in the preseason finale on Thursday, Aug. 21 (8 p.m.).
**Malik Nabers will be OK as he progresses through toe issue**
At the beginning of OTAs, Daboll said they would be "mindful" and "smart" with Malik Nabers' toe issue, which he has dealt with since his days at LSU. Last year's sixth overall draft pick, who set the franchise reception record as a rookie, has been mostly relegated to work with the trainers. Nabers will also often stand behind the line of scrimmage with the coaches and quarterbacks to hear the play call during team drills.
"He did a little bit of walk-through here, but he's progressing," Daboll said. "He'll be okay."