Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Russell Wilson Discusses Potential Request for Trade or Release after Losing Giants’ Starting Job to Rookie Jaxson Dart

Russell Wilson remains upbeat about his chances and keeps a positive attitude despite the recent setback!

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Russell Wilson faced the New York media a day after learning that he had lost the Giants’ starting quarterback job to rookie Jaxson Dart ahead of the week 4 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Drawing a parallel from last season, when the Giants’ then-quarterback Daniel Jones requested a release following his benching due to poor performance, Wilson was asked whether he would request a trade or a release in light of the recent events.

Russell Wilson Shows Class with Positive Reply to the Media

Despite what happened with Jones last season, Wilson looked genuinely surprised at the question when he was asked whether he was considering requesting a trade or a release.

Admirably, without any hesitation whatsoever, the veteran signal caller confirmed that his complete thought process lay with the Giants and in helping this team win rather than focusing elsewhere.

“No, I’m focused on helping this team win,” Russell answered passionately. “I’m focused on helping Jaxson, I’m focused on me getting ready to be the best version of me today, on Wednesday. I wanna be here. I love this organization, I love the process of it all. I love the guys in the locker room. I’m not giving up on us and this season.”

Russell Wilson is asked if he would request a trade or release from the Giants:

"I'm focused on helping this team win…I want to be here. I love this organization, I love the process of it all. I'm not giving up on us and this season." pic.twitter.com/q3kfoACrnU
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) September 24, 2025

What Led to Wilson’s Benching?

Prior to the start of the season, Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll was convinced that Wilson was the right man to lead the team. He held the same opinion following their 21-6 week 1 loss to the Washington Commanders.

In week 2, he had one of his better performances in recent times against the Dallas Cowboys, throwing for 450 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite his efforts, the Giants still lost in overtime 40-37.

Yet, overall, Russell has been disappointing through his three-game sample this season. With 778 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions, Wilson has a QBR of 34, which is 30th in the league. Moreover, against the Commanders, Wilson had a passer rating of just 59.3, while that against the Chiefs was only 43.8.

Leader: Despite Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart rarely playing any snaps and being the backup to Russell Wilson, he still listens to every play call and practices calling plays on the sideline.

The future in New York is BRIGHT 👏👏pic.twitter.com/I0Zpv7VZKJ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 22, 2025

Additionally, the rookie Dart impressed one and all during training camp and preseason. Several fans even chanted his name in week 3 while booing Wilson as he took the field. After going over the game tape, Daboll decided to start Dart for the remainder of the season, with Wilson relegated to the backup role.

Despite the turn of events, Wilson remains poised to do well and be ready for another chance with the Giants whenever that day may come. His positive attitude is a prime example of how one should handle such setbacks.

Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Jaxson Dart

New York Giants

NFL

Russell Wilson

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!