Ranking the Top NFL Free Agent and Draft QB Options for the New York Giants in 2025

The New York Giants' top priority during the 2025 NFL offseason will be finding a new quarterback.

The team completely collapsed this past season due to instability at the game's most important position. The 2024 campaign finally saw the long overdue dismissal of Daniel Jones, but the move failed to spark an improvement when backups Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito both failed to distinguish themselves.

Unfortunately, the G-Men missed out on a loaded crop of quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class and now must decide if they want to take a gamble on the handful of talented but raw passers available this year. There are also several veteran options to mull, although each of these experienced candidates comes with significant flaws or injury concerns as well.

With that in mind, here's a ranked look—based on the player's near- and long-term outlook, fit within the team's current offensive scheme and with consideration to contract and draft capital costs—at New York's top free-agent and draft options to fill their quarterback vacancy in 2025.

Jameis Winston

The New York Giants may not be a Super Bowl contender with Jameis Winston under center, but they sure would be a lot more fun to watch than they have been in recent years.

Winston is firmly in the journeyman stage of his intriguing career, having spent last season with the Cleveland Browns as a fill-in for the injured Deshaun Watson. While the Browns went a pitiful 2-5 in his seven starts, Winston did put up 2,121 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air. He also completed just 61.1 percent of his throws and had nearly as many interceptions (12) as he did scores.

The 31-year-old is now seeking to sign with his third team in as many years and fourth since entering the league as a No. 1 overall pick in 2015. He's on the record saying he would "absolutely" ink a deal with Big Blue if the organization takes former running back Saquon Barkley's suggestion, but it's hard to envision a scenario in which New York competes with Winston playing anything more than a depth role on its roster.

Aaron Rodgers

The New York Jets' Aaron Rodgers experiment failed in spectacular fashion. The team is now in worse shape than it was before acquiring the future Hall of Famer and it seems that the aging quarterback may not stick around to play another season for Gang Green.

While Rodgers remains under contract for 2025, the Jets may still make an expensive decision to release him this offseason. If that happens, there's a chance the 41-year-old's next move could be switching locker rooms at MetLife Stadium.

WFAN hosts Evan Roberts and Shaun Morash (h/t NJ.com) believe a Rodgers signing would be congruent with Giants owner John Mara's openly stated desire to put a winning product on the field in 2025. Considering the club is coming off a 3-14 campaign—one of the worst in Big Blue's storied history—New York might just be desperate enough to kick the tires on Rodgers and hope for a one- or two-year window of contention.

Kirk Cousins

Despite signing a blockbuster four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons less than a year ago, it seems likely the veteran quarterback will be up for grabs again this offseason. Cousins didn't live up to the hype after leaving the Minnesota Vikings and was replaced late in the 2024 season by promising rookie Michael Penix Jr.

While Cousins is coming off one of the worst campaigns of his career—one in which he threw for only 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns against 16 interceptions in 14 starts—there's still a chance he has something left to offer as he gears up for an age 37 season.

Cousins didn't appear to be fully recovered from the Achilles tear that cut his 2023 season short. The quarterback was on pace that year to make a third consecutive Pro Bowl and fifth overall since entering the league in 2012. With another offseason to recover and regain some mobility, he could potentially get back to that level.

If Cousins is ultimately released—an outcome NFL insider Ian Rapoport believes is likely—he could be a bargain signing for Big Blue. While he's clearly not a long-term solution, he's a legitimate candidate to bring some much-needed stability to New York's beleaguered offense.

If the Giants aren't sold on Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, they can still land an intriguing quarterback prospect in Jalen Milroe late on Day 1 or early on Day 2 of the 2025 draft. The team has a plethora of paths it could take to get the Alabama signal-caller, including taking a top-tier prospect like Travis Hunter at No. 3 overall and waiting to tap Milroe with the No. 34 overall pick. If Big Blue falls in love with Milroe, it could even put together a package to move back into the first round.

Regardless of how it gets accomplished, the Giants would be well set up for the future with Milroe in the mix. Although he's only the No. 77 overall prospect on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's post-Senior Bowl big board, he's earned a respectable 7.3 grade—ranking slightly behind Ohio State's Will Howard and tying him with Ole Miss' Jaxon Dart—and has the upside to easily outperform those expectations.

Milroe has spent the last two years starting for a strong Crimson Tide squad, tallying up 5,678 yards and 39 touchdowns through the air on a 65 percent completion rate in that span. He was an absolute force on the ground, posting 1,257 yards and a whopping 32 touchdowns on 329 totes since the start of the 2023 campaign.

At 6'2", 220 pounds, Milroe has decent size for his position and packs immense athleticism into that sturdy frame. He clearly fits the mold of a modern NFL dual-threat signal-caller, with B/R scout Dame Parson comparing the 22-year-old to Jalen Hurts "with a jet pack and stronger arm"—a testament to Milroe's incredible physical gifts.

While Milroe's upside is undeniable, there's still risk in expending a relatively early draft pick on him. He's had some polarizing performances during his stint with the Tide, including a truly awful showing against Oklahoma in which he completed just 42.3 percent of his throws and had three interceptions in an embarrassing 24-3 'Bama loss. On the flip side, Milroe dominated against elite foes like Georgia (four total touchdowns) and Wisconsin (five scores) —games that revealed his elite ceiling and could convince New York brass that he's the future of their franchise.

Whether Milroe becomes the next Lamar Jackson or Anthony Richardson remains to be seen, but at least the Giants won't be all-in on him if he fails to pan out. Pairing a Day 2 Milroe selection with another prospect at No. 3 overall seems to be the safest strategy the G-Men could take in April, although it may not be the fastest one back into contention.

Despite having just wrapped up his fourth professional season, the jury is still out on Justin Fields as an NFL starter.

The 2021 first-round pick had an up-and-down three-year run with the Chicago Bears before landing with the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason. Fields helped the club come out of the gate with a 4-2 record before ceding his starting duties to Russell Wilson. That run showed there may still be room for the 25-year-old to further grow his game.

Fields notably improved as a passer during his short stint in Pittsburgh. After connecting on a meager 60.3 percent of his throws while in a Bears uniform, Fields' completion percentage jumped up to a far more respectable 65.8 in 2024. He also got his turnovers under control, evidenced by his interception percentage dropping from 3.1 between 2021-23 all the way down to 0.6 last year.

That development is promising, especially considering Fields is already regarded as one of the best running quarterbacks in the league. He's amassed a whopping 2,509 yards and 19 touchdowns on 418 career totes and holds the NFL single game record for QB rushing yards with 178.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll has shown he can maximize the talents of mobile quarterbacks in his previous stops as an offensive coordinator and often utilized Daniel Jones' legs to create during his first few seasons in the Big Apple. Fields' mobility could also be a major boon behind a shaky Giants offensive line that has given up a league-worst 133 sacks over the past two years.

Fields won't cost the Giants much either. His market value is estimated by Spotrac to be a reasonable $6.4 million per year, a price that would allow Big Blue to spend big at other areas of concern such as offensive line and cornerback.

There is a chance that Fields never develops into anything more than the low-end starter he's shown to be over the first four seasons of his career. The Giants can afford to take that risk, however, and bring him in as a cost-effective stopgap with upside. At worst he'll be a decent bridge QB who can hold down the job temporarily until the franchise lands a first-round rookie in a much more promising 2026 draft class.

If the Giants aren't convinced that any of the quarterback prospects in the 2024 class are worth staking their future on, the club should do its best to land Sam Darnold in free agency.

Darnold is coming off a career-altering campaign. After signing with the Minnesota Vikings last spring, the 2018 first-round pick outperformed all projections. Although initially projected to be a bridge option to rookie J.J. McCarthy, Darnold wound up starting all 17 games and led the Vikes to a relatively unexpected playoff berth on the heels of a 14-3 campaign.

While Minnesota's offense wilted towards the end of the season—resulting in two straight blowout losses, including a disappointing Wild Card Round defeat—Darnold finished 2024 having completed 66.2 percent of his throws for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.

Considering he's only heading into an age-28 campaign after seven seasons in the NFL, Darnold should still have plenty left in the tank and can provide plenty of value throughout the life of his next contract. That won't be a cheap deal by any means—Spotrac has pegged Darnold's market value at approximately $40 million per year—but it's one that could provide a strong return on investment if he's the one to finally stabilize New York's long-tumultuous quarterback position.

If Big Blue does elect to make a run at Darnold, the organization needs to ensure he's put into a position to succeed. Darnold flamed out with both the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers due to poor supporting casts and coaching instability. He only realized his lofty potential in Minnesota thanks to a rock-solid offensive line, a strong receiving corps and a renowned quarterback whisperer in Kevin O'Connell as his head coach.

Brian Daboll has had tremendous success working with the likes of Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts at his previous stops and even coaxed out a career year from Daniel Jones in 2022—his first year as New York's head coach—so there's hope he can keep Darnold playing at a high level. The team will need to invest in its offensive line and augment Malik Nabers with at least one more reliable pass-catcher, but those moves should be in the pipeline regardless of whom ends up starting under center for the Giants in 2025.

New York could do far worse than landing Shedeur Sanders near the top of the 2024 draft.

While Sanders is not the highest-rated signal-caller in this class, he's an excellent consolation prize if Cam Ward comes off the board within the first two picks. The G-Men shouldn't feel the need to give up valuable capital to trade up from No. 3 overall for Ward either, not with a potential franchise quarterback like Sanders likely to fall to them on draft night.

Sanders earned a commendable 8.0 grade—indicating a Year 1 starter—from the Bleacher Report Scouting Department, who pegged him as their No. 16 overall prospect this year. He's the best pure passer in the class and has the talent to develop into a perennial Pro Bowler with a bit of polish to the rest of his craft.

The Colorado product has a natural feel for the game—a trait clearly inherited from Hall of Fame father Deion Sanders—and plays fearlessly. He has the arm to make all the throws at the NFL level and can use his athleticism to extend plays and create opportunities that won't be there for many other quarterbacks.

When summarizing the Colorado product, B/R NFL Scout Dame Parson said:

"Sanders' natural and pure passing abilities are the strength of his game. He is capable of winning from clean pockets and out of structure. Sanders will pick defenses apart with his quick release and accuracy, especially if he's kept clean. He is a high-floor prospect with a good enough ceiling to buy into. With his experience and the challenges he has faced, he is worth betting on."

While the Giants will want to see Sanders improve his anticipation and get a better feel for predicting the relentless waves of pressure he'll be facing at the next level, he'll be able to thrive from the jump if New York can patch up its shoddy offensive line. The Giants have been a mess in the offensive trenches in recent seasons and must allocate free agency dollars and draft picks to improve this area if they are going to put any passer in a position to succeed in 2025.

The Giants should sprint to the podium to put in their pick if Cam Ward is still available when they are on the clock at No. 3 overall during the 2025 NFL Draft.

Ward is the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's top-ranked quarterback and No. 8 overall prospect in the class. The Miami star earned an impressive 8.3 grade (a mark in range of being an immediate impact prospect) from B/R quarterback scout Dame Parson.

Parson believes Ward already has all the tools necessary to become a Pro Bowler at the next level, saying:

"Ward is among the most gifted throwers in the NFL draft class. The combination of arm talent, mobility/athleticism, and accuracy is growing among NFL scouts…He has superstar potential if he can cut down on mistakes/risky decisions."

Ward is coming off a brilliant campaign—his third as a starter after spending two seasons at Washington State—during which he completed 67.2 percent of his throws for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns. He was only responsible for seven interceptions and added another 204 yards and four scores on the ground for a Hurricanes squad that went 10-3 in 2024.

While there are some concerns about his ability to protect the football and tendencies to try and make the big play over taking what the defense is giving him, Ward is a tremendous talent who possesses an outstanding arm and a knack for improvising when a play breaks down. He'll be able to take command of Big Blue's offense from Day 1 and will provide the downtrodden organization some real hope for the future.

The Giants shouldn't hesitate for a moment if Ward falls to them on draft night. He may not be as well-regarded of an overall prospect as Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter—respectively the top two players on B/R's latest big board—but he fills New York's biggest need and has the best shot of any available passer to stick around for the long haul.