Harbaugh: Winston is QB1 even if Giants add another QB

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  Jordan RaananSep 27, 2026, 06:31 PM ET

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  Jordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jameis Winston threw for 119 yards in a steady rain and the New York Giants didn't get into the end zone in his first start in place of the injured Jaxson Dart. It was enough to lead his team to a 12-7 victory and keep the starting job, no matter who they add at the position in the coming days.

"Yes. Yes, I do," coach John Harbaugh said definitively on whether Winston he believes will remain the team's starter. "Yes, I do."

Dart is out for at least the rest of the regular season after undergoing knee surgery Friday. Winston took over early in last Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Rams and struggled.

Winston and Harbaugh said he did what was "required" on Sunday in the difficult conditions against the Titans. That meant leading the Giants on four scoring drives and not turning the ball over in the wet and windy weather as a result of a Nor'easter.

It didn't seem to be a differentiator one way or another. The Giants insist how Winston played isn't affecting the current starting quarterback situation.

"Not at all," Harbaugh said. "Not at all. The plans are the plans. The opportunities that you have are the opportunities you have. No matter what, we're going to do everything we can to make our team as strong as we can based on what options we have."

New York (2-1) hosts the Arizona Cardinals next week at MetLife Stadium. It still remains likely they will have a new quarterback on the roster this week.

The inexperienced Jake Haener served as Winston's backup Sunday.

The Giants are expected to add a quarterback in the coming days with free-agent Jimmy Garappolo, Arizona's Gardner Minshew II and Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy among the options, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

"I'm not worried about that. I don't care about that," offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. "Jameis is our quarterback now. We're gonna ride with him for the rest of the season."

The goal is to win games. The Giants did that Sunday when they never trailed.

Winston has the support and trust of the locker room.

"Yeah, I mean, we did win, didn't we? We trust our guy back there," center John Michael Schmitz said. "We trust that he can get the job done. We've got all the belief in him as our quarterback."

Winston, a 12-year veteran, isn't paying much attention to the outside noise. He's been around long enough to understand how this all works.

The veteran quarterback earned his first win in three starts for the Giants dating back to signing with the team before the start of last season.

"Y'all ask me: How does it feel to win your first game as a New York Giants starting quarterback? That's the stuff I choose to focus on the seed of good in everything," Winston said.

It wasn't a perfect performance on Sunday from Winston. He was a bit wild and off target early. He threw a pair of passes in the first half behind tight end Isaiah Likely. He even got away with a potential interception.

But Winston made enough plays and seemed to settled down in the second half. He completed five of his seven pass attempts and had a nifty 15-yard scramble where he juked a defender.

Harbaugh seemed content.

"I thought Jameis did what was required in this game," he said. "The first thing you have to do is what's necessary, what's required. After that, then you can do what's possible. Then maybe the impossible becomes possible. That's from St. Francis of Assisi, in case you were wondering. I thought he did what was required. He did what was necessary."

Winston's self-assessment of his performance was also positive.

"Really every quarterback is really judged on if they won or lost the game," he said. "So, I'm grateful I get judged off on a win and not a loss. I've had games where I've thrown for 500 yards. And the game turned out not the way I wanted it to be. Anytime, any day, I would rather win."