Jameis Winston’s time with the Giants has already taken a few sharp turns, but Joe Schoen isn’t backing away from the move that brought him to New York.
Less than two months after Winston signed a two-year, $13 million deal, the Giants general manager laid out why the team wanted him in the building. Winston began the season as the backup, got pushed into the starting job, then lost that role to J.J.
McCarthy after a rough outing against the New Orleans Saints. Even with that roller coaster, Schoen said the value goes well beyond the box score.
“You’re always going to want a vet that can help the young guys while the coaches are up game planning and the quarterbacks are doing film on their own. Downstairs in the meeting room, to have a vet and just to know how valuable Jameis is to Jaxson and how valuable he will be to J.J. as well,” Schoen said.
He doubled down on the idea that Winston’s presence matters in the room as much as it does on Sundays.
“To have the veteran presence in the room with the wisdom that Jameis has and can provide and the leadership, the multiplier effect that that will pay for those guys down the road is invaluable. So you’re always going to want a vet in the room anyways.
And the way that Jameis had performed and along with the leadership, just the chemistry of that room and for the whole team, it just made sense. I’m glad we have him here.”
For Schoen, the backup quarterback job is about more than emergency snaps. It’s about keeping the room steady and helping set the tone, and he believes Winston has grown into that responsibility over the course of his career. The Giants may have wanted more from him on the field, but they clearly appreciate what he brings everywhere else.
“When you’re talking about a backup quarterback that also has leadership, that can lead not only that room, but the team. Can he go 2-2 in a four-game stretch?
He went 2-1-1. And like I said, he’s led us in games where we’ve had leads in the fourth quarter or at least a tie.
So you’re in the game in the fourth quarter with him and with a backup quarterback, that’s what you’re looking at,” Schoen said.
Winston is no longer the starter, but his run in that role still shapes what the Giants are doing now. He helped keep them afloat when they needed him, and now he’s settling back into the job the team brought him here to do. For Schoen, that still adds up to a quarterback worth having around.
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