PALM BEACH, Fla. — The numbers indicate it. The performance on the field might confirm it. The vibe given off suggests it. The trends are downward with Russell Wilson and there comes a time in most NFL careers when a player hits a cliff, from which there usually is no ascent.
This is the quarterback the Giants signed to start this season at the controls of what in 2024 was a feeble offense. This is the quarterback, once great but not anymore, handed over to head coach Brian Daboll, who is now tasked with breathing some life into Wilson’s once-vibrant career.
“In terms of the cliff, until you’re with the players, coaching them — I’m looking forward to working with Russ,” Daboll said Tuesday morning at the NFL annual meeting at The Breakers.
“I’ve watched him, I’ve watched what I think he can do well, I’ve watched stuff that maybe we can help him with and I’ve watched stuff that maybe he can help us with.”
Daboll said the same holds true with Jameis Winston, but Winston was signed to a two-year deal worth $8 million to serve as the backup quarterback. Wilson was brought in for one year and $10.5 million in guaranteed money to start. Both veterans will share a quarterback room with returning Tommy DeVito and that room could include Shedeur Sanders or another rookie if the Giants go the quarterback route early in the NFL draft.
Before the Giants committed to the 36-year-old Wilson, Daboll went to work, studying a player who spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the Seahawks and most recently led a nomadic football existence — two years with the Broncos and last season with the Steelers. The Giants are Wilson’s fourth team in the past five years.
“Obviously at Seattle, very, very productive and then he’s been on a few different teams the last few years,” Daboll said. “Look forward to working with him. He’s been a good player, he’s got good leadership traits to him. Smart. He’s played a lot of football.
“He’s athletic. He’s a little older so he’s maybe not as athletic but he certainly had ability to use his legs, extend plays, create explosive plays, phenomenal deep-ball thrower. Has created a bunch of explosive plays in scoring points for his team and does a good job of making good decisions with the football.”
To get a better read on Wilson, Daboll watched every snap Wilson has taken since he arrived into the league in 2012. Daboll estimated seeing more than 7,500 pass plays. Wilson and his new teammates assemble at the team facility on April 21 for the opening of the offseason workout program and at that point, the blending in of Wilson with Daboll’s system will commence.
The challenge might be finding what Wilson still does well. He compiled four consecutive 100-plus passer ratings from 2018-21, but after leaving the Seahawks, his efficiency and playmaking have waned. His rating was a career-low 84.8 with the Broncos in 2022, 98.0 the next season in Denver and 95.6 last season with the Steelers.
Daniel Jones never came close to attaining a passer rating of 100 and slumped to 70.5 and 79.4 in his last two seasons with the Giants. The Giants view Wilson as a significant upgrade. But there will be growing pains.
“I’m always a big believer that you try to run things that the quarterback and your guys do well,” Daboll said. “I’m not like ‘Hey, here’s the playbook, learn the playbook.’ I think the playbook has to be ever-changing.”
After a meeting of the minds, a plan of attack will be formulated. Daboll said he will go through the spring and summer before determining if he will retain the play-calling duties or hand them back to offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, who handled that assignment in 2022 and 2023.
“What I really like about Dabs is just his mentality, his attack mentality,” Wilson said. “We haven’t been able to talk a whole bunch of ball yet, but I’ve been able to see a bunch over the years and understand who he is.”
Even in his decline, Wilson has maintained his proclivity for completing passes deep down the field. That has largely been absent from the Giants’ arsenal and the hope is he will be able to launch some of his moonballs to Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton and tight end Theo Johnson — and maybe even unproductive speedster Jalin Hyatt.
“He’s been a productive player in doing that part of the game and we have some fast guys on the perimeter at a big young tight end who can get down the seam,” Daboll said. “Where that goes from here, we got to get together and put together something that’s good for everybody.”
