Jameis

Winston

There wasn’t much Jameis action in 2025, but what we got was certainly fun. He was 37-for-66 for 567 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in three games (two starts) in his first season in New York. He took three sacks and averaged 15.3 yards per completion. He is still under contract for one more season at $3.95 million, but the Giants could also opt out of the deal and take on a $2.3 million dead cap hit. It remains to be seen what the Giants will do, and that decision would likely be made by their new head coach, but Jameis has shown enough to warrant being viewed as a top backup in the league and would be a nice insurance policy to have behind Jaxson Dart.

Duggan pointed to comments from Commanders head coach Dan Quinn ahead of Washington’s Week 15 game against Dart and the Giants as evidence that New York opponents are targeting Dart based on his willingness to take big hits, even to the head. “The quarterback is a very competitive dual-threat guy. He will try to run the ball like a running back,” Quinn told his defense last week. “He will try to run you over. He will try to stiff-arm. He doesn’t really run out of bounds. He doesn’t slide a whole bunch. We can get the ball off of him.” Dart took yet another shot to the head in the Giants’ Week 15 loss to the Commanders and was checked for a concussion before re-entering the ballgame. Dart has missed time with brain injuries this season and continues to lower his head as a rusher in the open field. It’s something he’ll need to change if he wants to have a long NFL career.

Winston, against all odds, also had a receiving touchdown on a trick play in the second half. Winston caught the ball at the ten yard line and shed a tackler before reaching the end zone in one of the more awkward scores in recent memory. Though he missed some routine throws in the second half, Winston had several strong throws to Wan’Dale Robinson, who had nine grabs for 156 yards and a touchdown in this one. Winston also connected with Isaiah Hodgins for a short score. The Giants tried to be run heavy for the second-straight week but were forced into a passing script in the second half. Winston delivered with a typical Winston game: Lots of air yards, some wild throws, and some clutch, fantasy-rich completions down the field. Winston would be a viable streamer in Week 13 against the Patriots if Jaxson Dart (concussion) remains out.

Winston gets the nod for a second consecutive week after Jaxson Dart was unable to clear the league’s concussion protocol. Last week against the Packers, Winston threw for 201-0-1 on 29 passes, but did punch in a short rushing touchdown to salvage an otherwise disappointing fantasy day. Winston will be on the fantasy radar as a mid QB2 with four teams on bye, but he matches up against a Lions defense that ranks eighth in passing yards allowed this season.

Dart logged back-to-back limited practices to open the week, but the rookie signal-caller will miss his second-straight game with his brain injury. This will put Jameis Winston in line to start against the Lions, who currently rank eighth in passing yards allowed but have also surrendered the ninth-most passing touchdowns on the season. Winston threw for 201 yards and one pick in his first start of the season, and will be in the QB2 range for fantasy.

There were no surprises in this Winston spot start, right down to the veteran backup getting away with, no joke, 4-5 dropped interceptions. He finally made the last one count, getting picked in the end zone as he tried to rally the Giants from a touchdown deficit with 0:40 remaining. Bitterly disappointing, if deeply unsurprising. Working with almost nothing in the Giants’ undermanned skill corps, Winston was busy handing it off when he wasn’t getting picks dropped, as the G-Men dialed up 38 rushes. It was an admirable enough job, if also one that will have Giants fans counting down the seconds until Jaxson Dart (concussion) can return. That will most likely be Week 12 against the Lions in Detroit.

Dart has already been ruled out for Week 11’s game against the Packers, but the rookie was on the practice field Friday and should have a chance to be cleared early next week. Jameis Winston will draw the start in Dart’s absence this week, but this is great news for Dart before the weekend.

Interim head coach Mike Kafka made the announcement after Jaxson Dart was placed in the league’s concussion protocol. Winston’s aggressiveness and willingness to push the ball downfield should benefit Darius Slayton, Theo Johnson, and Wan’Dale Robinson in Week 11 and beyond, if Dart misses more time while recovering from his latest head injury. Winston last season in Cleveland threw 13 touchdowns to 12 picks over seven starts. He averaged nearly 300 passing yards per game for the Browns. Winston should be picked up in all superflex formats.

Dart was out cold on the turf in Week 10 against the Bears after slamming his head on the ground in the third quarter. He was checked for a head injury for the fourth time this season before being escorted to the locker room, where he remained for the rest of the contest. Dart is almost certain to miss Week 11 against the Packers. The Giants moved Jameis Winston into the QB2 role ahead of Week 11, meaning Winston would get the starting nod should Dart miss the game. Russell Wilson will serve as New York’s emergency QB3 now that Russ loyalist Brian Daboll is out.

Winston is being bumped to the QB2 role behind Dart, according to Russini. That means Russell Wilson — a favorite of recently fired head coach Brian Daboll — has been demoted to the emergency QB3 role ahead of the Giants’ Week 11 game against the Packers. Winston’s hair-on-fire play might not be great for real football purposes, but his aggressiveness and willingness to push the ball downfield should benefit Darius Slayton, Theo Johnson, and Wan’Dale Robinson if he gets the start against Green Bay. Dart last week suffered yet another head injury and has a good chance of missing at least one game. Winston should be rostered in all superflex fantasy formats this week.