Giants Clips
Woody Johnson’s favorite quarterback could be returning to New York.
Justin Fields, who was traded by the Jets to the Chiefs as part of the plan to have a capable replacement in the event Patrick Mahomes wasn’t ready for Week 1, has emerged as an option for the Giants, who have made it clear they will look at all options.
Fields has been mentioned multiple times in recent days by multiple reporters, which means that the word is out that Fields could be a possibility for the Giants.
The Giants are expected to make a move as soon as Monday. Jameis Winston’s performance against the Titans on Sunday will surely be a factor in the question of whether they’re looking for someone to serve as Winston’s backup — or someone who could eventually supplant him while starter Jaxson Dart misses at least the balance of the regular season after knee surgery.
The two-year, $40 million contract Fields signed last year with the Jets included $10 million guaranteed for 2026. The Chiefs are paying him $3 million, and the Jets are paying $7 million. With Mahomes looking like Mahomes again, the Chiefs could recoup their 2027 sixth-round pick and unload the balance of Fields’s 2026 salary.
The Chiefs also would have to be willing to elevate rookie Garrett Nussmeier into the QB2 role behind Mahomes, unless coach Andy Reid and G.M. Brett Veach have someone else in mind who could be the backup to Mahomes.
Giants coach John Harbaugh has limited experience against Fields. In 2021, Fields (then a rookie with the Bears), started a Week 11 game against the Ravens. He left with a rib injury after completing four of 11 passes for 79 yards and rushing one time for four yards. During his single season with the Steelers, Fields played three snaps in a Week 11 game against the Ravens that Russell Wilson started. Fields ran the ball twice for 17 yards. In the wild-card game that same year between the Steelers and Ravens, Fields played two snaps, throwing one pass that did not connect.
Still, Fields apparently is on the radar screen for a return to New York, where the other team that plays in MetLife Stadium will be paying him a lot more than whatever the Giants would contribute to his 2026 W-2.
The Giants are planning to add a quarterback from outside the organization in the near future, but it won’t happen before Sunday’s game against the Titans.
Head coach John Harbaugh said on Friday that Jake Haener will be the backup to Jameis Winston in Week 3 and the team signed him off of the practice squad on Saturday. Haener signed with the Giants in August and returned to the practice squad after final cuts in August.
Haener made one start and appeared in eight games for the Saints in 2024. He was 18-of-39 for 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Giants also elevated wide receiver Braxton Berrios and linebacker Malik Harrison from the practice squad on a temporary basis.
The Titans are dealing with a couple of injuries in their offensive backfield, so they have added a running back to the roster for Sunday’s game against the Giants.
Michael Carter has been elevated from the practice squad for the matchup. Carter signed with the Titans in April and returned to the practice squad after being released during their final cuts.
Carter is familiar with the location of Sunday’s game. He was a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Jets, who share MetLife Stadium with the Giants.
Tyjae Spears may not play this weekend due to an ankle injury. Tony Pollard was also on the injury report with an ankle issue this week, but he has no injury designation.
The Titans also signed defensive back Erick Hallett to their 53-man roster. Linebacker Owen Pappoe was waived in a corresponding move.
Two months ago, the price point for a ticket for a specific event at MetLife Stadium landed as high as $39,704. On Sunday, it will be considerably cheaper to get in to the building.
At TickPick, the get-in price for Titans-Giants is as low as $17. At Ticketmaster, the league’s official reselling partner (by the way, it’s amazing how many previously seedy and illegal businesses became respectable and legitimate once corporate America figured out how to profit from them), there are plenty of tickets at $20 or $21.
There are good reasons for the football game to be viewed as far less desirable to attend than the World Cup Final. First, the Giants have lost their starting quarterback for the season. (Yes, Jaxson Dart supposedly could return for the postseason. But if they manage to get that far without him, why bring him back when he hasn’t played in months?) Second, the Titans aren’t exactly a road draw. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a bad weather weekend in New Jersey, thanks to a nor’easter that will bring plenty of rain and wind to the region.
But if you’re willing to brave the elements and you’re willing to answer Cam Skattebo’s call and you’ve got a portrait of Andrew Jackson burning a hole in your pocket, you can go to the game.
Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll will be coaching against the team that fired him when he faces the Giants on Sunday. He says that’s not particularly important.
Daboll, who was hired as Giants head coach in 2022 and fired last year, said he can set aside any emotions associated with facing his former team and just focus on doing his job.
“I’ve faced a lot of former teams before,” Daboll said. “It’s a one-week season every week, so you’ve got to put everything you got into it. You’ve got to get ready for scheme, new coordinators on their end, different players. As simple as it sounds, that’s what it is every week in the National Football League. I have a ton of respect for the people in that organization. Very grateful for the opportunity the Mara family and Tisch family gave me. From top down to the bottom, really good people in that building. But it’s about getting the players ready for a game. I’ve been on a number of teams that played my former teams before. But the focus is on our players.”
Daboll also downplayed any idea that he has an advantage because he knows the players on the Giants, noting that they’re a different team this year than they were last year. Daboll is treating Sunday like he’d treat any other game.
Titans running back Tony Pollard (ankle) had a second consecutive limited practice Friday after missing Wednesday. Pollard, though, did not receive an injury designation for Sunday.
That is good news for the Titans because running back Tyjae Spears (ankle) is questionable to play. Spears returned to practice Friday on a limited basis.
Rookie running back Nick Singleton made his regular-season debut in Week 2 and could see more work this week because of Pollard and Spears’ injuries.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said Friday, via Jim Wyatt of the team website. “He’s probably 50-50 on the read [on his runs], but to be expected from a young buck. So, hopefully we get him a couple more. But overall I think he’s going to be a good back, he’s going in the right direction.”
Singleton, selected in the fifth round out of Penn State, carried the ball four times for 10 yards against the Eagles.
The Titans also list cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (quad) as questionable after he had three limited practices this week.
Word this week was that Giants linebacker Brian Burns would miss time with the ankle injury he suffered in Week 2, but the Giants have not ruled him out for Sunday’s game against the Titans.
Burns is listed as questionable despite missing practice all three days this week. The report and the lack of practice time suggest Burns will need more time before he’s able to play, but final word on his status won’t come until closer to kickoff.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) returned to practice Friday and has no injury designation.
Cornerback Deonte Banks (calf) and safety Tyler Nubin (calf) join Burns with questionable designations on the team’s final injury report.
Through two games this season, Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham has still not had a single pass thrown his way. Giants head coach John Harbaugh hopes that changes soon.
Asked today when will be the right time to get Beckham involved in the offense, Harbaugh said Sunday’s game against the Titans would be ideal.
“That’s a great question. I would think Sunday would be great. I would be all for it for Sunday. That would be the perfect time in my mind. So I hope that happens this Sunday,” Harbaugh said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.
If Beckham doesn’t get involved soon, it’s going to raise questions about why he’s on the roster at all. Beckham is 33 years old and doesn’t play special teams, so it’s not like he’s a developing player, or a receiver who contributes even when he’s not doing much on offense. If it doesn’t happen on Sunday, it might not happen for Beckham.
The Giants are down to two healthy quarterbacks, but that should be changing soon.
Jaxson Dart was placed on injured reserve Thursday, which leaves Jameis Winston on the active roster and Jake Haener on the practice squad. Head coach John Harbaugh said the team is working to add someone else, but isn’t sure when that will get done.
“We’re in the process, that’s really all I can probably say right now,” Harbaugh said, via SNY. “We are going to have to do that. Whether we can do it before the game or not, I don’t know. But we’re working on that.”
Whether they add someone before facing the Titans or not, Harbaugh said Haener will serve as the backup on Sunday. Winston will make his first start of the season and the Giants will need him to be sharper than he was against the Rams to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Week 1 was bad. Week 2 was worse.
The ManningCast audience keeps shrinking. For the Broncos-Chiefs game to start the season, 705,000 of 23.2 million viewers watched the alternate broadcast on ESPN featuring Peyton and Eli Manning.
Via Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the Giants-Rams Week 2 audience dipped to 661,000. The total broadcast generated 19.4 million.
The only good news is that the percentage of ManningCast viewership moved from three percent in Week 1 to 3.4 percent in Week 2.
No ManningCast is on the docket for the Eagles-Bears game in Week 3. The possibility of a Pat McAfee alternate broadcast has been mentioned, subject to league approval. There has been no further word on whether it will happen.
If it does, the bar has been set. If a McAfeeFest gets to seven figures (which the ManningCast once did, consistently), that will be a bad look for the Peyton and Eli show, which continues to experience a disconnect between the industry’s view of it and the audience’s response to it.
