Sunday will be the 90th NFL start for Jameis Winston. This is not his first rodeo, as they say.

He is next in line at quarterback after the devastating news that Jaxson Dart needs surgery on his left knee and is out for the remainder of this season. Dart was the starter, Winston was the backup. Now Dart is out and Winston is in.

No one knows how this will work out, but if Winston fails it will not be because he lacks belief in himself.

“I am very confident in my ability to execute with precision and to lead the New York football Giants to victories,” Winston said Wednesday after a practice in which he took the first-team reps on offense. “Very confident in that.”

The Giants earlier this month signed Winston to a two-year extension worth $13 million, keeping him under contract through the 2028 season. They view him as one of the top backup quarterbacks in the league, and they greatly value his leadership qualities in the locker room. 

He called himself a “servant leader” for the team in 2025 and was content with again filling the role of Dart’s understudy. But Winston never gave up on his desire to start, and now he is the player in charge of the offensive operation, beginning with Sunday’s game against the Titans at MetLife Stadium.

“It’s truly a privilege,” he said. “I had this privilege for two games last year, and it truly was an honor. For this game alone, my focus is on being my very best, having elite fundamentals and precise execution.”

Winston said his new responsibility is “keeping Jaxson’s spirits uplifted and going out there on that football field and being the New York Giants starting quarterback right now.”

Winston, 32, takes over the reins of an offensive system that was specially designed for Dart’s expansive and varied skill sets. Winston is 36-53 as a starter in his 12 NFL seasons and has not started more than seven games in a season since 2019 with the Buccaneers. A former Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Winston is on his fourth NFL team. 

Winston played poorly filling in for Dart in Week 2, completing just 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards and a killer interception in the end zone in a 28-6 loss to the Rams.

“I have to execute better and I am going to execute better,” Winston said.

He is 2-9 in his past 11 NFL starts, losing two games with the Saints in 2022, going 2-5 for the Browns in 2024 and 0-2 with the Giants when Dart was in concussion protocol.

“Well, he can throw it,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “I mean, he’s a big, strong, passing quarterback. He can throw the ball. Everybody that follows football has certainly seen Jameis play, and that’s — his strengths are evident, so that’s what you build around.”

The Giants hope that Winston, with a full week of practice with the starting unit, will play at a higher level than he did coming off the bench against the Rams.

“He’s been engaged every step of the way with everything we’re doing,” Harbaugh said. “So, from that perspective, it’s seamless. It’s not ideal at all, but it’s definitely seamless.”

Winston embraced all the New York market has to offer, and his many off-field endeavors are designed to set him up once his playing career is finished. He said he does not need to alter his approach now that he is the starter.

“How I plan my year in terms of by design, football is my priority,” Winston said. “And every single day I write down what I would love, and that’s to be a Super Bowl-winning, starting NFL quarterback. So, my schedule is always planned to execute that.”