Winston knew he would not be the only quarterback the Giants added
A sharply-dressed, thrilled to be a member of the New York Giants Jameis Winston introduced himself to the New York/New Jersey media on Monday. He said he knew he would not be the only quarterback the team added this offseason.
“My role was explained to me as there is an opportunity at the quarterback position that we’re looking forward to getting better at. I signed up for that because I’m looking forward to getting better and being my very best self myself,” Winston said.
“So that’s how was it. I didn’t get a clean explanation of my role because I played so many different roles already. I’ve played every role that the quarterback room has to offer, so I’m ready for anything.
“Absolutely, I knew a free agent signing was going to come or maybe even a draft pick was going to come. But that’s their business. My business is today, and today I have the privilege of finally becoming a Giant.”
Jameis Winston is excited to play in New York:
“The Big Apple is the biggest city in the world with the greatest fans in the world as well” pic.twitter.com/VnrBXFpH9n
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) March 31, 2025
Here are some other takeaways from Winston’s introductory press conference.
Mentoring a young quarterback
Winston gave a long, heartfelt answer to this one that included praise of Drew Brees.
“One of the greatest experiences that I had in my NFL career was a chance to spend one year with Drew Brees and just pick his mind, watch his actions, and just be immersed into being an NFL quarterback and seeing what it looks like to the highest degree.
“One thing that he always exhibited was consistency. He was at the same place every single time of the day. Another thing he exemplified was resilience. He didn’t let anything get in the way of his preparation, in the way of his approach.
“And the other thing was he kept it simple. He didn’t think too much about the big things. He focused on doing the small things over and over again that resulted in him having the success he had for his entire career.
“So me having that experience, being in rooms with great veteran quarterbacks such as Ryan Fitzpatrick, being in rooms with now quarterbacks with Derek Carr, Deshaun Watson last year, having the chance to mentor Dorian Thompson-Robinson when he had a chance to get back in his starting role with the Cleveland Browns. I’ve been able to learn so many different things from my time, my career.
“So catering to a young quarterback and serving them would be something that I would definitely take on with a great responsibility and cherish it.”
On playing for Brian Daboll
“I’ve always admired Brian Daboll back when he was with the Patriots. I really got more familiar with him when I saw the league’s reigning MVP, Josh Allen, have a tremendous jump from year one to year two. I saw a coordinator or playcaller that was very creative that found ways to cater to his quarterback’s strengths, to find ways to get his position players involved, and found ways to take off a lot of excess work from our offensive linemen by getting the ball out quickly and finding ways to establish the running game. That is something I have always admired about him.
“When I got to really understand his upbringing, where he comes from and what he was about, coming from Buffalo, New York, hard nosed, gritty, raised by his grandparents, that’s something I was definitely familiar with because I was raised by my grandmother as well.”
On the Giants’ roster
“Well, you have a young super star, two young super stars, three young superstars from the tape that I’ve seen when I watched Malik (Nabers), Wan’Dale (Robinson) and Theo (Johnson), and an emerging superstar in Jalin Hyatt. You have a crafty veteran who has always showed up and done the right thing at the right time and always finds a way to get behind the defense in Darius Slayton.
“I think that was a key get-back for this organization and team in getting Darius back.
“You got a veteran running back in Devin Singletary, and a young running back that can do things in the backfield in (Tyrone) Tracy. So I’m excited what this offense has to offer. You got a left tackle (Andrew Thomas) that is coming back from injury, but playing in the offensive line when you’re in the trenches, you’re going to get banged up sometimes.
“Injuries are very tough. I loved getting a chance to spend some time with GVR (Greg Van Roten). Knowing his veteran background and how much impact he has on this offensive line in general.
“And I look forward to connecting with the other young guys and just seeing what we can be as an offense. I promise you we are going to find ways to make some things happen and get some wins. I think that’s the most important thing to everybody.”
On his relationship with Russell Wilson
“My relationship with Russ is good, man. Russ. A lot of people don’t know this, he was one of the quarterbacks that allowed me to take a look into how he ran — Russ ran his enterprise, ran his businesses, how he took care of his body and how he trained and what did he do to go into his mental approach.
“Russ and I had a very close friend who is no longer with us in Trevor Moawad. We were a lot closer when Trevor was still with us. I think Russ will speak on this. Trevor instilled a lot of great traits into both of us, and we continue to use those traits, express those traits in our leadership and our commitment to football.”
On coming to a 3-14 team
As you might figure from Winston’s seemingly-always sunny disposition, he found a bright side.
“Well, the biggest thing when you join a team that went 3-14, you got look at it like this: The NFL is a business of what have you done for me lately. Any team that has their back against the wall, you know the coaches, the executives, the fans, they are looking for immediate change.
“I feel like in my time, in terms of my process of joining a team, I’m looking for immediate change because it’s required. It’s required to start winning for me in the NFL. It’s required for this organization to start winning.
“So we can have more giggles, more laughter, more fun in this building. We’re in the biggest city in the world and we should enjoy that and I think winning does that.
“So when to comes to looking at their record, I didn’t look at this team as a 3-14 team. I looked at what was possible, and what I saw was possible is an offense that can execute efficiently and can be explosive. I saw a defense with an incredible front.
“And I saw this offseason them adding Paulson Adebo, Jevon Holland in the back end to create some noise to help that front get home.
“I just figured that the Giants, man, they don’t look like a 3-14 team from the talks of people talking about — I know Kayvon (Thibodeaux), I know Brian (Burns) a little bit, and Dex(ter Lawrence). Like from their talks and their conversations, like the locker room didn’t seem like it was a 3-14 team.
“So this team is looking for a complete paradigm shift. This team is looking to make a splash. And there is no better place to do it with no greater calling to do it than right here in New York City being a New York Football Giant.”
