Giants' John Harbaugh And Matt Nagy Will 'build The Offense Around' Jameis Winston

Following the potentially season-ending knee injury to quarterback Jaxson Dart, Giants head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy are shifting gears to run the offense around backup signal-caller Jameis Winston (at least for now).

Winston, 32, has plenty of experience as a starting quarterback, most of which came during his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the franchise that selected him with the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. 

Across 89 starts (including two with the Giants in 2025), Winston has completed 61.1 percent of his passes, averaging 270.0 passing yards and 2.4 sacks per game. In those starts, he's also thrown 150 touchdown passes and 107 interceptions.

"He's a big, strong, passing quarterback who can throw the ball," Harbaugh said of Winston. "His strengths are evident, so that's what you build the offense around."

Nagy agreed with Harbaugh's assessment of the veteran quarterback, comparing and contrasting his skillset with what Dart has shown in his young career thus far.

"Obviously, Dart is a dual-threat quarterback," said Nagy. "When you lose that, it impacts the playbook."

"But at the same time, Jameis is a guy who has played a lot of football games in his career. We have ultimate trust in him. Our job as coaches is to help [Jameis] help us, designing the offense around his strengths and what he can do."

Winston has a well-earned reputation for committing turnovers, which was evident in New York's loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, when he forced a throw in the red zone, which was intercepted.

"I have to execute better and I am going to execute better," Winston remarked in the wake of that game.

Nagy acknowledged and addressed Winston's style of play, and explained what he'd like to see out of the makeshift starter moving forward.

"We know who he is. There is a lot of feast or famine with him," Nagy stated. "We talked all training camp about protecting and respecting that football. Ball security is paramount with the type of team that we have."

"Jameis knows that, and he's as true as a pro as you'll see, preparation-wise. Thankfully, he's been here for all the OTAs and training camp, so he'll be prepared."

Harbaugh echoed Nagy's praise of Winston's hard work behind the scenes, and believes it sets him up to be as comfortable as a backup quarterback can reasonably be stepping into the driver's seat.

"All these plays that we have, we've been practicing and running them with [Winston during practice], so it's more like a lane change as opposed to changing direction," the head coach declared.

Winston himself is equal parts thrilled and thankful at the opportunity to prove that he is as a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL with the Giants.

"This is what I've always dreamed of, to be a starting quarterback," Winston stated. "Obviously, my respects and gratitude are just going to be with Jaxson, but at the same time, this is what I dream of, being where I am right now and executing at a high level."

"Execution and preparation are the same," he continued. "Football is my priority, so every single day I write down what I would love, and that's to be a Super Bowl-winning, starting NFL quarterback, so my schedule is always planned around executing that."

Winston is no stranger to season-derailing injuries. In fact, in Week 8 of the 2021 season, while playing for the New Orleans Saints, Winston suffered a season-ending torn ACL and Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee.

It's no surprise, then, that Winston is being vocal about supporting Dart throughout his injury recovery process.

"Me and Jaxson have talked," he explained. "It's pretty fresh, so I'm going to keep on lifting him up. He's a warrior. He's in good spirits. He's focusing on what he would love, and that's healing. And all of us are going to just wrap our arms around him and lift him up."

Finally, Winston spoke on the Giants fanbase regarding their expectations for the team moving forward.

"The fans want to see wins," Winston concluded. "It's not about what I'm showing them, it's about us going out there and winning football games together, giving them something to cheer for, giving them something to stand behind."