While the New York Giants may be on a bye week, Jameis Winston won’t be hard to find.
According to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, the Giants’ backup quarterback will appear on both of Fox’s NFL pregame shows — Fox NFL Kickoff and Fox NFL Sunday — this week. Winston previously served as a digital correspondent for Fox during this year’s Super Bowl week and went viral for his interactions during Opening Night and elsewhere.
While the 2013 Heisman Trophy didn’t necessarily meet on-field expectations as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft on, he has since settled into a role as one of the league’s most reliable — and exciting — backup quarterbacks. This season, Winston has started two games for the Giants, completing 37 of his 65 pass attempts for 567 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, in addition to catching a 33-yard touchdown pass on a trick play.
Off the field, the former Florida State star has emerged as one of the NFL’s most entertaining interviews. As such, it’s hardly a surprise that he’d already be lining up media gigs before the end of his playing career, with this weekend’s assignments only strengthening his preexisting ties to Fox.
Winston also won’t be the only Giants quarterback on network airwaves during the team’s bye. On Thursday, CBS announced that Russell Wilson will serve as a guest analyst on its NFL Today pregame show this Sunday in what could perhaps be a sign of things to come for the 37-year-old signal-caller, who is seemingly nearing the end of his playing career.
In recent years, it’s been common for veteran NFL players — especially quarterbacks — to use their bye weeks to perform freelance media work. Just last year, Matthew Stafford earned rave reviews for his work as a guest analyst on Fox NFL Sunday during the Los Angeles Rams’ week off.