Russell

Jameis Winston, not Russell Wilson, to start for Giants if Dart can’t

Jameis Winston entered last Sunday as the New York Giants’ No. 3 quarterback.

This week, he appears to be set to make his first start of the season.

Winston has been moved ahead of fellow veteran quarterback Russell Wilson on the Giants’ depth chart, according to multiple media outlets. The move puts Winston in line for what appears to be a likely start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers as regular starter Jaxson Dart remains in concussion protocol.

It’s the first major decision made by interim coach Mike Kafka since the Giants’ firing of coach Brian Daboll on Monday. New York went 20-40-1 in three-plus seasons under Daboll, including a 2-8 start to this season.

A 10-time Pro Bowl selection and a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson started 11 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, his 13th NFL season. He was signed during the offseason by the Giants to be their 2025 starting quarterback.

Winston was signed to be Wilson’s backup. In his previous 10 NFL seasons, Winston had gone 36-51 as the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, with 154 touchdowns and 111 interceptions.

In April, the Giants traded up nine spots in the draft to select Dart with the No. 25 overall pick. The rookie out of Mississippi ended up earning the No. 2 quarterback spot. But Wilson was largely ineffective during the Giants’ 0-3 start, and Dart was promoted to starting quarterback in Week 4.

Dart helped spark the Giants to wins over the Chargers and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in two of his first three starts. Overall this season, Dart is 2-7 as a starter, completing 63% of his passes for 1,417 yards passing with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Last week against the Chicago Bears, Dart hit his head on the ground during the third quarter and eventually was checked for a concussion for the fourth time this season. Wilson entered the game mid-drive and led the Giants to an eventual field goal and a 20-10 lead.

Overall, however, Wilson was ineffective again — he completed three of seven passes for 45 yards and was sacked twice — as the Giants collapsed and lost the game 24-20.

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Holly Aitchison – I want to inspire like Finn Russell in women’s game

Arriving at Sale Sharks as part of a high-profile revamp, Holly Aitchison has made one big move this summer.

She is adamant she won’t be making a second.

“[England head coach] John Mitchell has made it pretty clear to me that I can cover different positions, but I am a 10,” she told BBC Sport.

“And I won’t be seen as anything else.”

A year ago, the question wouldn’t have been asked.

At WXV in Canada, Aitchison was the Red Roses’ starting fly-half, steering them to title-clinching victories over New Zealand and Canada.

Her playmaking and running abilities were a key part of diversifying England’s threat, ensuring that, come the Rugby World Cup in England, they would have more cutting edges than a bandsaw.

It didn’t turn out like that.

Zoe Harrison edged in front as first-choice 10, with Aitchison shifted into the centres or on to the bench.

An ankle injury in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup meant Aitchison struggled to challenge for her spot, only appearing in the knock-out stages and then being deployed as a midfield replacement in the semi-final and final victories over France and Canada respectively.

But the 28-year-old is resolute in sticking to her position and her philosophy.

“I want to dictate,” she said.

“Obviously I got that ankle injury before the World Cup, but we were definitely moving in the more expansive direction.

“That’s something that I champion, that’s what I bring as a 10.

“I want to inspire the backline, I want to play this brand of rugby that attracts viewers.

“In the men’s game, I think of players like Finn Russell – you buy a ticket to watch him.

“I want that kind of hype around players in the women’s game where we’re creating that style of brand that people want to watch.”

At Sale, she hopes she has found the stage to do that.

The team finished last in PWR last season, but they have invested and improved.

Aitchison’s England team-mate Amy Cokayne and Scotland wing Rhona Lloyd were also signed over the summer while England’s Morweena Talling and the United States’ all-action lock Erica Jarrell-Searcy are part of an exciting back five in the pack.

Sale co-owner Michelle Orange had earmarked this season, after the Rugby World Cup, as a chance to lure some of England’s players back to the north and strengthen a struggling team.

Aitchison, born and raised on Merseyside, was a top target.

“Holly was on my hit-list, not just as a poster girl for the Red Roses, but for the North West and women’s rugby in general,” Orange tells BBC Sport.

“She is a perfect fit coming in. We are so lucky to have Katy Daley-Mclean – one of England’s best ever fly-halves – heading up our women’s programme and Holly follows in her mould.

“I love Holly’s style, her sass, the way she puts herself out on social media and identifies with her fanbase, this is exactly who we want in our team to bring some extra X-factor and complement the girls we have already got.”

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