Bengals, Browns named potential trade suitors for $10M Super Bowl-Winning QB looking for new start
The NFL regular season is already a quarter of the way through, and while there’s still plenty of time for teams to find their footing, some early-season narratives are starting to take shape. One of those involves the New York Giants and veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. Before the season even began, there were warnings that the Giants might not stick with Wilson for long.
“I would not be shocked if it started off right away. I wouldn’t be shocked…The amount of money they’re paying Russell Wilson does not guarantee him the starting quarterback job, right? I don’t think they’ll be scared to start Jaxson Dart here…This is why they like him,” Chris Simms said.
Fast forward to the present: Wilson was already backing up rookie Jaxson Dart before the calendar even turned to October. Now, he could very well be on the trade block following the Giants' latest decision.
“Wilson is making $10.5 million from the Giants this year, but $8 million of that came in a signing bonus. Thus, a team trading for Wilson would assume just a portion of his $2 million base. That's cheap enough to happen midway through the season, when wallets are tight against the salary cap. The Giants are likely to consider such a move for the right price, a luxury because Jameis Winston, a veteran with 87 starts, would then serve as their backup behind Dart,” NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo wrote.
Trade speculation has already begun, with Wilson being floated as a possible option for quarterback-needy teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns.
“While the Mississippi product didn't produce eye-popping numbers against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4, he never appeared overwhelmed by their top-tier defense or the loss of top receiver Malik Nabers (torn ACL). Sunday's win may be enough to prevent the Giants from going into fire-sale mode, but it shouldn't prevent them from shopping three-week starter Russell Wilson. Teams that already have injuries at quarterback—or are simply experiencing poor play at the position—should be interested in Wilson at a modest price. Potential Suitors: Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote.
For both sides, a deal could make sense. The Bengals are looking for a temporary solution while Joe Burrow recovers, and the Browns are still trying to figure out what direction they want to go at quarterback.
Wilson could provide leadership, experience, and stability to either franchise. For Cincinnati, the goal is simply to get the ball into the hands of their talented wide receivers. For Cleveland, it’s about finally finding a reliable presence under center.
Jaxson Dart Fires Up Saints With Bold Week 5 Bulletin Board Material
Forget the Paulson Adebo revenge game. The New Orleans Saints versus New York Giants has taken a pivot to being the Jaxson Dart revenge game after the rookie quarterback's comments leading into the game. The only thing that could have made this more intense is if Tyler Shough was starting instead of Spencer Rattler.
Typically revenge games are reserved for players who used to play for the team. That's the box Adebo would check after leaving the Saints in free agency this past offseason. He hasn't shown any public resentment, so let's turn the camera like a Shaq meme to Dart. He does seem to have a personal vendetta of sorts.
The Saints met with Dart before the draft, and clearly Dart felt that was a place where he could land. Earlier this week, the rookie discussed the Saints passing on him in the first round saying “I think that there’s always a chip on your shoulder any time that something like that happens."
Saints picking Tyler Shough had to make Jaxson Dart more frustrated.
Dart is certainly happy in New York, but it sounds like New Orleans was at least one of the places he wanted to land. "I felt like my visit with them went good,” Dart said. “So, you kind of have thoughts in your head during the draft of what options are really realistic, and I definitely felt like that was a place that could have panned out. But things didn’t work out that way.”
Translation: "I liked the Saints and I began to envision myself in the black and gold. I'm disappointed that didn't happen." The opportunity to be a top-10 pick probably wasn't lost on him either.
The Saints obviously needed a quarterback going into the draft. It wasn't a secret to anyone, and eventually, they selected Shough in the second round. Seeing the Saints still pick a quarterback had to make Dart seeing them pass on him sting even more. Watching a battle of rookies would have been an interesting storyline knowing Dart feels this way about falling past New Orleans.
You could say Dart was already off the board by the time the Saints rolled around in the second round. I'd present two counterpoints. I doubt Dart cares about that, and it sounded like Shough was the Saints guy anyway. Dart being available still would have just put that conviction to the test.
There are players who choose their jersey number based on how many players were picked ahead of them at the position. It's not rare to see players motivate themselves based on draft night snubs. For Dart, this should serve as extra motivation in his second career start.
