Russell Wilson arrives in New York with greater than expertise — he additionally has an opportunity to comply with a blueprint created by Kurt Warner, the Corridor of Famer who as soon as turned across the Giants’ fortunes. If Wilson can comply with that path, he received’t simply revive his personal profession. The 13-year veteran may also save a franchise teetering on the sting of irrelevance.
In 2004, Warner arrived in New York to stabilize a franchise coming off a 4-12 season and last-place end. The Giants had cycled by means of eight quarterbacks since their final Tremendous Bowl win whereas trying to find a long-term reply. Warner offered a bridge to rookie Eli Manning, setting the stage for the staff’s resurgence.
Now, Wilson steps into that function. The Giants, coming off a 3-14 collapse in 2024, are as soon as once more trying to find stability at quarterback. Since Manning’s retirement in 2020, they’ve cycled by means of eight totally different quarterbacks.
Wilson, who signed a one-year, $10.5M contract with the Giants, isn’t simply enjoying for his personal redemption — he’s tasked with guiding the staff towards its subsequent period.
“If we draft a quarterback, we are going to be sure that he does every part he can to be able to go and be ready together with his mentality,” Wilson mentioned per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan on Wednesday. “However for me, it is in regards to the strategy of successful. I am centered on successful, what I can do as a quarterback of the New York Giants to assist us win and to do every part that we will to guide.”
These aren’t simply phrases — they’re the identical mindset Warner introduced in 2004. Warner understood his function as a bridge to the following period and embraced it, telling Gary Myers for The Athletic in 2019, “I took the strategy I’m right here to assist in any means I can for that younger man [Eli Manning] to get higher.”