Russell Wilson poised for quarterback reunion with ‘excited’ ex-teammate after AFC move

Russell Wilson looks set to remain in the Big Apple for 2026.

The veteran NFL quarterback has become quite the journeyman over recent seasons, spending the 2025 campaign donning the Big Blue of the New York Giants.

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For 2026, though, the 37-year-old free agent, who has made it clear he wants to continue playing amid talks of a media career, looks set to make the switch to their local rivals New York Jets.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt, the Jets hosted Wilson for a visit on Monday, with them strongly considering him to be their QB2 behind Geno Smith.

“Geno Smith was presented with various options at backup quarterback and he was excited about the prospect of Russell Wilson, per source,” Rosenblatt posted to X.

“Jets and Wilson spoke at some point prior to the draft and scheduled Monday night’s visit then.”

Wilson and Smith have been in the same quarterback room before, when the latter served as the former’s backup for two seasons when at the Seattle Seahawks.

Now, the roles look set to be reversed, with Smith fronting the team where he began his NFL career, after a torrid season under center for the Las Vegas Raiders where he led the league in interceptions.

For Wilson, joining the Jets could be last chance saloon, with the Super Bowl-winning signal caller not known to have received any interest from elsewhere around the league during free agency.

In 2025, Wilson went 0-3 as the starter of the Giants before he was benched in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart.

In six total appearances for Big Blue, he completed 58 percent of his passes for 831 yards and three touchdowns to three interceptions.

The Jets appear to be opting for veteran experience in a quarterback room which has been a revolving door in recent seasons, the last of whom was Justin Fields who has since been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Perhaps bringing in someone like Wilson to pair with Smith, neither of whom are expected to be long-term options under center, indicates that they have one eye on the 2027 NFL Draft, where Arch Manning is expected to declare.

They did, of course, select Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik with one of their fourth-round picks in last week’s draft.

Taking on side quests until he finds an NFL home

While he is still yet to officially join an NFL team for the 2026 season, Wilson has been keeping himself busy.

Over the weekend, in front of 40,000 fans at Yankee Stadium, Wilson stepped up to the plate to make his debut for the Savannah Bananas baseball team.

Baseball’s version of basketball’s Harlem Globe Trotters, the Bananas brought out Wilson for their matchup against the Party Animals.

Wilson – who played college baseball and was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 2010 MLB Draft – stepped in during the bottom of the fifth inning.

With one strike on the count, as he connected his bat with the ball, it broke and as he sprinted toward first base, his bouncer was turned into a trick play to end the inning.

The Bananas wound up losing to the Party Animals 7-2.

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