Giants' Russell Wilson's legacy with franchise will be tied to Jaxson Dart's career
The Giants' Jaxson Dart, right, congratulates Russell Wilson after a touchdown during a preaseason game against the Jets on Aug. 16 at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
The ledger is just about closed for Russell Wilson’s time with the Giants, and it is not pretty.
Three games, three losses, one strong showing with three touchdown passes against the Cowboys sandwiched by two disappointing ones. His play for the team probably will be remembered less for those beautiful moon balls he threw to Malik Nabers in Dallas than for his flustered chucks in the red zone. He punctuated his performance with a simply awful errant toss from near the goal line late in the loss to Kansas City that was the Flipper Anderson of passes: It went through the end zone, up the tunnel and just kept going while Giants fans watched in horror.
He did not do much, frankly, to keep his job beyond the brief time he held it. Assuming his replacement, rookie Jaxson Dart, can stay upright and healthy, Wilson probably won’t find his way back to the field, either.
His greatest glory came at MetLife Stadium when he led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title there. His final game might have been in the same building, with a far different result, in last week’s loss.
Wilson said he wants to keep playing, but when these recent missteps are coupled with his recent histories in Denver and Pittsburgh, it’s hard to see that happening. His career is pretty much over.
His legacy, though? That book remains unwritten, even with the Giants, and it ironically rests in the hands of his never-wanted protege.
If Dart can cobble together a decent career for the franchise, maybe lead the team to a few playoff appearances, sneak in a run or two at a championship and, who knows, one day hoist a Lombardi Trophy, in a very weird way, Wilson will be along for the ride.
The lens through which we view Wilson’s time with the Giants will be determined by the very person who has relegated him to the bench. Wilson will be remembered as a teacher, role model and the guy who taught Dart how to be a pro.
That’s ultimately why the Giants paid him $10.5 million this season. They hoped he had enough left to help them win games, and that part was a gamble that didn’t pay off. But they knew he would be the kind of player whom their young quarterback (unnamed at the time of the Wilson signing) should emulate.
Even at his lowest moment here, having to answer questions on Wednesday after being demoted to backup, Wilson was 100% Wilson. He said all the right things in the exact tone you’d want them said.
“It’s not easy for someone to do that,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “I feel for him, and I think he’s going to continue to be a great leader and a great person in the room and help Jaxson as best he can. I know he came out and said that [Wednesday] and I think that’s true and that’s real, and that’s the kind of guy he is, and that’s why we wanted him here.”
Some of Wilson’s talking points this week were a bit delusional. He keeps talking about the Cowboys game as if it were a terrific triumph rather than a gut-punch loss that his late interception helped lead to, and his expectations about wanting to play in 2026 are, as noted, far-fetched. But he also spoke about not being defined by adversity and put the team ahead of himself.
He was gracious and respectful, somehow simultaneously proud and humble.
If any of that rubs off on Dart, the Giants will be very lucky.
Defensive captain Dexter Lawrence wasn’t surprised by the way Wilson handled this.
“I think anything in life, if you handle it the right way, it can be a stepping stone to something great,” Lawrence told Newsday. “I know Russ believes that. Having him come in and show us how to lead, how to prepare like a champion, how to do the little things the right way, that can have an everlasting impact.”
Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson also spoke highly of Wilson and his reaction to this week.
“We are still there for him,” he said. “He is still one of our teammates and like a brother to me. He’s helped me in so many ways during the time we were together . . . He’s a great dude, one of the better people I ever come in contact with, especially in football. He is just consistent every day, always the same person, and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Most importantly, Dart recognized it, too. Wilson has helped him navigate the path to his first NFL start this week with both overt advice and calm example-setting.
“He’s just somebody that I really look up to, and he’s handled it great,” Dart said of the dynamic between the two. “The interactions between us since, I think it just says a lot about him as a person.”
Now Dart gets to pay Wilson back.
He can go from here and have a strong career to make Wilson proud. He can help turn Wilson’s brief tenure as starting quarterback of the Giants from what seems on the surface to be a winless waste into the early seeds of success.
“At the end of the day, I think Jaxson is learning a lot from him, and from Jameis [Winston], too,” Robinson said. “Hopefully people aren’t just looking at the losses but maybe the lessons he is giving to this young quarterback to be able to go out there and play.”
Perhaps one day they will.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
