The Giants have their new quarterback.
Almost 11 weeks after their miserable 2024 season finally ended, the Giants signed Jameis Winston to a two-year contract.
Winston, who recently told NJ Advance Media he was “absolutely” interested in signing with the Giants, once tossed 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in a single season. He finished 2024 with 2,121 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
He’ll probably be terrible, but it‘ll surely be entertaining.
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General manager Joe Schoen could have had Winston last free agency — before he signed a one-year contract with the Browns — but the third-year GM was still convinced Daniel Jones could lead his team.
Boy, was he wrong.
The Giants went 2-8 under Jones and won just one game after cutting him.
Winston may have only provided a slight upgrade as he went 2-5 with Cleveland.
Schoen hopes Winston will lead the Giants to at least respectable levels in 2025. His and coach Brian Daboll’s jobs might depend on it.
Schoen and Daboll are square on the hot seat after posting three fewer wins in each of their first three seasons. The Winston-Malik Nabers pairing could be fun, but will it be enough to satisfy co-owner John Mara, who said he’s “just about run out of patience” amid their long rebuild? Mara expects the Giants to, at the very least, play in “meaningful games” in December. This won’t be easy given they face the toughest schedule in the NFL next season.
Unless Winston somehow finds his Florida State form or one of Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders thrives with him as a mentor, the Giants will likely be in the same spot this time next year: At the top of the draft with nothing but blind hope entering free agency.
The only difference is they’ll likely have a new GM and coach leading them.
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Ryan Novozinsky may be reached at rnovozinsky@njadvancemedia.com. You can follow him on X@ryannovoNFL