It should have ended before it even began. For as great as Russell Wilson was during his college career at North Carolina State and Wisconsin and for the first decade of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, his days of being an NFL starting quarterback are officially over. After an 0-3 start to the year, the New York Giants are benching Wilson in favor of their promising rookie Jaxson Dart.
Wilson has not been the same player over the last several years. Since turning 30, he has struggled to be the athletic player he once was initially coming out of Wisconsin. His final year in Seattle was only okay. His two-year run in Denver was a disaster. While he had his moments last season in Pittsburgh, there is a chance Wilson has started his final game as a professional now that he has been benched.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was all over the news of Dart getting the call for the Giants ahead of Week 4.
A QB change: Giants are planning to start rookie Jaxson Dart on Sunday vs. the Chargers, sources told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/PwYApMCoN7
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2025
Wilson beat out Dart, Jameis Winston and Tommy DeVito for the starting job out of the gate. Wilson may have had the better pro career over any of them, but he was a shell of himself coming into this season. One of the things that is very important to understand here is Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen's jobs are on the line in New York this year. The Giants will have to start winning games for them to stay.
As for what this means for Wilson, he has probably cost himself a serious shot at the hall of fame.
Former Wisconsin Badgers star QB Russell Wilson benched by NY Giants
Very rarely do we see a player go from a sure-fire hall-of-fame lock, to potentially forever outside the gates of immortality. Wilson has done irreparable damage to his NFL career since COVID. He could have retired seven years ago and be in Canton already. Instead, his career hit a downward spiral nobody could have forecasted. Now firmly in his mid-30s, he might be hanging up the spikes soon.
For as good as Wilson was during his one year leading the Badgers back in 2012, that was a very long time ago. It was one of the best quarterback seasons in Wisconsin football history. To think that North Carolina State was totally cool with letting him transfer in lieu of starting Mike Glennon is still not for the faint of heart. Glennon's greatest strength was being tall. Wilson at one point in time was clutch.
In the end, we all sort of knew this was going to happen. New York used a first-round pick on a promising prospect out of Ole Miss. It was only a matter of time before Dart got his opportunity to start. While he could be in for a rough time leading one of the worst teams in football, he is left with no choice. Either Daboll and Schoen will figure it out, or whoever ends up replacing them in January will.
While it may not be the final chapter of Wilson's NFL career, being benched feels like the penultimate.