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After his benching and later demotion to third-string with the New York Giants this season, Russell Wilson is planning on giving it another go in 2026 with a new team. The 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback and free agent-to-be said Monday his is not considering retirement following his 14th season in the NFL.

"I'm not blinking," Wilson said, via SNY. "I know what I'm capable of. I think I showed that in Dallas, and I want to be able to do that again. You know, and just be ready to rock and roll, and be as healthy as possible and be ready to play ball."

Wilson signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal that had double that amount in incentives tied to performance and playoffs. Then-coach Brian Daboll and the Giants named Wilson the unquestioned starter at the time of his signing and that continued despite selecting former Ole Miss standout Jaxson Dart in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Through an 0-3 start, New York's offense was sinking, ranked 27th in points despite being 12th in yards gained through three weeks. Wilson's passer rating sat at 78.5, the lowest of his career, and forced Daboll's hand to go with Dart.

The 37-year-old vet said Monday he played with an injury this season.

"You know, I played that (Week 2) game, you know, I tore my hamstring on Friday in practice -- the last play of practice. And I had a Grade 2 (tear). I couldn't tell anybody. I had to go and play on it just because I knew the circumstance, I had to play on it, no matter what," Wilson said. "I actually ended up going to the Dallas Mavericks' facility, training. And, you know, kept it quiet, just trying to get treatment on it and just knowing that I probably couldn't run from the goal line to the 10-yard line if I wanted to, but I feel like, you know, I got to play this game."

Potential landing spots

The likelihood of Wilson being a premiere starter next season is slim, but there are several teams with varying quarterback situations in need of help -- assistance he could provide in a backup role or potentially with first-team reps.

The New York Jets don't have a QB1 coming out of the 2025 season after benching Justin Fields in November for Tyrod Taylor. After a 2-8 start, Taylor went 1-5 over the Jets' final stretch in games he started.

In CBS Sports' latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft, Mike Renner has the Jets selecting Oregon signal caller Dante Moore at No. 2 overall, behind the Las Vegas, who are also expected to go quarterback with their top selection.

The Cleveland Browns fired coach Kevin Stefanski on Monday, which means general manager Andrew Berry and the new coaching staff have decisions to make within their quarterback room without a justifiable starter. That group consists of Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and a costly Deshaun Watson, who signed a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract in March 2022 and has only made 19 starts since -- a result of NFL suspension and several injuries.

Perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs and Wilson would be a marriage that works, at least temporarily until Patrick Mahomes is ready to return from the field following his torn ACL. For now, backup Gardner Minshew, who also tore his ACL, isn't under contract for next season and neither is practice-squad quarterback Chris Oladokun. 

Wilson and his agent may have to wait until after the draft shakes out in a few months to see which teams have a spot available and decide on options -- or at least where interest is mutual.

Six seasons removed from his NFL-best 40 touchdown passes for the Seattle Seahawks in 2020, the former Super Bowl champion was effective in Denver during the 2023 campaign but has played below his career QBR avg. of 99.3 the last four years.