Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson is thinking long and hard about his free agency decision.
Minutes after the new league year officially began Wednesday, ESPN reported that Wilson is scheduled to fly tonight to Cleveland to visit with the Browns on Thursday, before flying to New York to visit with the Giants on Friday.
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The Browns scheduling a visit is an interesting wrinkle as they clearly need a QB and hold the No. 2 pick in the draft. If they convince him to sign, Cleveland might punt on drafting Cam Ward or Shedeur Sander in April’s draft (which makes the Giants' path to a new QB even easier).
Wilson, 36, completed 63.7% of his throws for 2,482 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 starts for the Steelers last season.
The Super Bowl XLVIII champion isn’t the Giants' first choice — Plan A was Matthew Stafford, who re-signed with the Rams and Plan B is Aaron Rodgers, who remains unsigned — but with just one QB on their roster, the Giants can’t be picky.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen‘s interest in Wilson goes back to at least last spring, when he flew the ex-Broncos QB in for what ESPN called an “exploratory meeting.” Schoen reportedly made Wilson no promises about playing time since he was still convinced that then-injured QB Daniel Jones could lead his team.
He was dead wrong.
The Giants spiraled to a 2-8 record Jones (including a Week 8 loss to the Steelers in Wilson’s 2024 debut) and won just one game after cutting him. Wilson, meanwhile, proved he could still sling it deep with the Steelers, leading them to a 10-7 record and a playoff appearance.
If he signs him, Schoen hopes that Wilson could lead the Giants to at least respectable levels in 2025. His and coach Brian Daboll’s jobs might depend on it.
Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com. You can follow him on X@ryannovoNFL