The New York Giants' Russell Wilson era is over after just three games. The team is off to a 0-3 start to the 2025 campaign and is already prepared to turn to rookie Jaxson Dart, putting a screeching halt to Wilson's 14th season. His time in The Big Apple might be over, but the former All-Pro showed that he still has a lot left in the tank that teams should value.
Since the team confirmed that Dart would start in Week 4, Wilson has openly declared that he is “not done” with his career. The results have not been there where it matters, but he certainly has proven that he is still a starting-caliber player. Through three games, Wilson is the league's third-leading passer with 778 passing yards.
At this point in his career, Wilson is no longer the MVP candidate that he once was. That much is clear. His 2025 season has been nothing short of a tumultuous roller coaster ride, with two subpar performances sandwiching one superb outing. That might not be good enough for a rebuilding team with a head coach on the hot seat and a first-round pick sitting on the bench, but Wilson is more than capable of leading other struggling organizations, even in a short-term capacity.
At 36, Wilson certainly does not want to waste any time with what he has left in his career. He has yet to request a trade or release, but that outcome would not be the least bit surprising.
Even if he does not initiate movement on his end, Joe Schoen should still be receiving calls from rival general managers. The season is still young, but a few teams are already in crisis mode. They need to immediately capitalize on a player like Wilson if they wish to salvage what they can.
Bengals need another short-term answer
This one is obvious. Joe Burrow remains out for at least a few more weeks, and the Jake Browning experience needs to end. It has only been one game, but the Cincinnati Bengals should already be sounding alarm bells.
In just two games, Browning is already leading the league with five interceptions. He threw three against the Jacksonville Jaguars and two against the Minnesota Vikings to average a horrific 2.5 turnovers per game thus far. Some positive regression is surely in store, but with Browning under center, Cincinnati is looking like the worst offense in the league.
The Bengals need to think bigger than just riding it out with QB2 Jake Browning.
Yes, he’s been solid in relief before.
But with Joe Burrow expected to miss three months, Cincinnati can’t afford to let this season slip away.
That’s why the front office should pick up the… pic.twitter.com/3VCQfeit2i
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 19, 2025
Russell Wilson has already thrown three interceptions, and none have been pretty. Turnovers and decision making are what ultimately led to his downfal with the Giants, but Wilson has historically been keen at protecting the ball. He only threw five interceptions in 2024 in 11 games with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Burrow will not be out forever, but the Bengals afford to continue to lazily trot out Browning. The current conundrum either leads to forcing the franchise player out behind a shoddy offensive line before he is 100 percent, or having him return to a 2-4 team and in danger of suffering another lost season.
We have said that the Bengals need to be urgent with this situation before. The previous thought was that Cincinnati needed to send an offer for Jameis Winston, but a better Giants quarterback is now available.
It is only Week 4, but the Bengals' season is already on the line. Wilson is their best bet, and general manager Duke Tobin should have already been making calls.
Vikings need to consider adding Russell Wilson
The Minnesota Vikings are another team that is currently playing without their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Kevin O'Connell has already said that J.J. McCarthy will not return until he logs a full week of practice, potentially keeping him sidelined for the next month.
Without McCarthy, the Vikings have turned to veteran Carson Wentz, who joined the team late in the offseason. They could certainly do worse, and Wentz was clean in his Week 3 debut, leading the team to a dominant 48-10 win over the Bengals.
But for as good as Wentz was, the Vikings cannot be confident that will always be the case. Wentz is just 48-46-1 as a starter in his career, including 13-14 since he left the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021.
With a defense as elite as the one that showed up in Week 3, Minnesota just needs Wentz to keep it afloat until McCarthy returns. The question remains how long O'Connell can trust him to do so. The last time Wentz started more than one singular game at a time, he was just 2-5 with the Washington Commanders in 2022.
If it is not Wentz, the Vikings do not have any other reliable options on their roster. They list Max Brosmer as his backup, but they are clearly not confident in him in that role, or they would not have signed Wentz in the first place.
The Vikings are bona fide Super Bowl contenders, and they need to treat themselves as such. They can keep riding Wentz until the wheels fall off, but when that happens, it will be a quick descent. Minnesota needs to be prepared for that situation by adding Russell Wilson.
Titans should seek Cam Ward insurance
The Tennessee Titans need a quarterback like Russell Wilson, but not in the way that it seems. Cam Ward might be struggling to find a rhythm early on, but that was to be expected for a rookie in this difficult situation.
Tennessee's biggest concern with Ward should be his availability. Just three games into his career, Ward is already banged up. The Titans list their No. 1 pick as questionable to face the Houston Texans in Week 4 while he deals with ankle and calf injuries.
The development should come as no surprise. It has not even been a month, and Ward has already taken an NFL-high 15 sacks. He has faced 34 pressures through three games, according to FOX Sports, the fourth-most in the league.
Whether fans want to blame the offensive line or Ward's pocket pressence, it is clearly affecting his play. The situation does not appear to be getting any better, and Ward will only be put further at risk.
If the Titans shut him down at any point, Brandon Allen is the only other quarterback on the roster. Ward would undoubtedly benefit from sharing a locker room with a veteran like Russell Wilson. The Titans might not want to fulfill Wilson's salary, but they would be much more confident deploying him if necessary than they would be in Allen.
From Wilson's perspective, there is no benefit to backing up the No. 1 pick instead of the No. 25 pick. However, his chances of playing another meaningful snap in New York are slim. He might at least have an outside chance to see the field in Tennessee.
