As New York Giants players enjoyed their off-day on Tuesday, news flashed across their television screens and mobile devices: Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson had been benched in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart.
Players had been in the facility for team meetings on Monday, but head coach Brian Daboll offered nary a peep about an impending change.
Needless to say, his players were caught off guard, confirming to reporters on Wednesday that they had learned about the switch on social media, just as everyone else had. It was something Daboll dismissed outright.
“The world we live in,” he said, via Art Stapleton. “It’s the world we live in.”
But perhaps Daboll should not have been so dismissive.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that several plays were put off by the lack of communication, with one player griping that they could have announced the change on Monday. Others believed the announcement could have waited until Wednesday, when everyone was back in the building.
Interesting vibe in the locker room this week. Players like Jaxson Dart, but I didn’t get the sense the QB change is being viewed as some rallying cry. Theme from a number of players is that it’s a business and you can never be surprised by anything.
It didn’t sit well with…
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) September 26, 2025
And that’s not the only frustration brewing in East Rutherford.
During an appearance on The Craig Carton Show earlier this week, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News confirmed Carton’s reports that the locker room was upset over veteran quarterback Jameis Winston not receiving an opportunity to start under center.
@PLeonardNYDN tells @craigcartonlive that Brian Daboll is on the HOT SEAT for the Giants
Did picking Jaxson Dart to start over Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston lose the locker room? pic.twitter.com/oEW88IHVdS
— The Craig Carton Show (@CraigCartonShow) September 26, 2025
“I was told a lot of the players were upset, not so much that they benched Russell Wilson because they saw that as inevitable,” Carton said, “but Jameis Winston might be the most popular guy in that locker room, and there’s a handful of guys I was told again, not anti-Dart, but pissed at why isn’t Jameis getting a crack at it? Any truth to that?”
“That adds up to me. That’s good information that you’re getting. I think it didn’t add up even in the offseason, Craig, to people — not just myself — around here that there wasn’t a quarterback competition where Jameis didn’t have a chance to beat out Russell Wilson. They handed Russell Wilson the job,” Leonard said.
“So again, imagine you’re one of these players. They hand Russell Wilson the job, which is telling everybody this guy’s better. You’ve got to believe in him. But you’re watching practice. You’re watching Jameis Winston look more explosive in a lot of the practices than Russell Wilson does. But you accept it, and then when Wilson struggles, they bench him. And they’re not putting in the quarterback that you know is most ready.”
If Dart goes out there and lights the world on fire, this becomes much ado about nothing. However, if he falls flat and the Giants continue to lose while Winston languishes on the bench as the emergency quarterback, the frustration will only grow louder and, potentially, boil over.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants players upset with Jameis Winston being passed over?
