Two days after the New York Giants fired coach Brian Daboll, interim head coach Mike Kafka announced the NFL team would have a new starting quarterback, too.
Former Hueytown High School star Jameis Winston will be under center when the Giants take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Ten-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson started at quarterback for the first three games of the 2025 season after joining the Giants in free agency during the offseason.
Jaxson Dart replaced Wilson, but in his seventh start, the first-round rookie sustained a concussion in Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Chicago Bears and won’t be available against the Packers.
Instead of returning Wilson to the lineup, Kafka will give Winston his first action of the season.
“He’ll do a great job,” Kafka said on Wednesday. “I have a lot of confidence in Jameis. Have a lot of confidence in Russ, and he’ll be the backup as Jaxson works through the concussion protocol. …
“I think Jameis will do a heck of a job. He’s a great leader. He has a lot of production in this league, and I think he’s going to do a great job leading that group.”
Winston is excited enough about “this amazing opportunity” to sing a line from the musical “Hamilton” during his Wednesday press conference.
“I want fans to know that I’m going to do my best,” Winston said. “Obviously, I’m going to have fun. But I’m going to execute, have a surgical execution, and just play ball, man. Like, this is something I’ve been doing since I’ve been 4 years old. I just get to do it in the greatest city in the world. I’m going to be singing it with my son: ‘It’s the greatest city in the world.’ Yeah, that’s a Hamilton reference, if y’all don’t know. A 10-year reunion.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OURNFL PAGE
Three months after “Hamilton” premiered on Broadway, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Winston the first pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. As the Bucs’ No. 1 QB in his first five seasons, Winston started 70 games and threw for 19,737 yards and 121 touchdowns. Since then, Winston has started 17 games and thrown for 4,488 yards and 33 touchdowns in four seasons with the New Orleans Saints and one with the Cleveland Browns.
“I’ve been waiting on this moment, man,” Winston said. “So the shock was off, the rust is off. It’s like, ‘Hey, you get to play.’ And when you get to play, nothing else matters but taking it one play at a time and doing your very best, because we all have different circumstances, conditions and facts. And I know that.
“But, man, I’m extremely grateful. I choose to focus on what’s true, and that’s my mentality, that’s my opportunity, being able to lead this team, and that’s my action, so going out there, being energetic, enthusiastic, serving every single way that I can and playing the best football I possibly can play.”
Former Auburn standout and current Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton is expecting “positive energy” from Winston.
“Jameis is a positive guy, but he’s also kind of an electric personality,” Slayton said. “A guy that draws people in and makes people believe, so I look forward to playing with him this week.”
In his final season as Tampa Bay’s quarterback, Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards, at the time the eighth-most in one season in league history. He passed for 33 touchdowns in 2019, too, but he also threw 30 interceptions.
“Everybody’s alive,” Slayton said about playing with Winston. “It doesn’t matter where you’re running or what you’re running, he can gun it anywhere and he will gun it anywhere. For a receiver, that’s what you love. You love to have a chance, you love to feel like the guy is going to give you a chance, and I think that’s kind of been Jameis’ whole career is that type of M.O. and why he’s led the league in passing before. So, like I said, I think he’ll do a good job this weekend.”
New York fired Daboll after its fourth straight loss dropped the Giants to 2-8 for the 2025 season.
“I think we are just ready for a win,” Winston said. “And I think that’s the consensus. ... So I think this city, this stadium, we are willing to do any and everything for the New York Football Giants to be celebrating at the end of the day. And we know a good football team is coming in, but it’s not about them. It’s about us playing our very best. And it’s not about our circumstance, conditions and facts with our coach and with new changes. It’s about us being grateful for the Maras giving us this opportunity to put on a uniform. Like, this is what we signed up for.
“So whether we’re 10-0 or 2-7 or 2-8, we signed up to do this. So we have to be willing to do more than what we’re required to do when they gave us this opportunity.”
The Giants and Packers will square off at noon CST Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“I just want them to be excited,” Winston said about the team’s fans. “Come ready. Expect us to give it all we got. Just like y’all. Just like when the Giants fans come up, we know we’re going to feel them. We know that we’re going to receive them. Receive us with open arms, and we’re going to give you what you desire.”
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.