Giants' Russell Wilson joins Eli Manning in exclusive NFL QB history with Week 1 milestone

Billy Heyen

Giants' Russell Wilson joins Eli Manning in exclusive NFL QB history with Week 1 milestone image

Russell Wilson reaches a milestone achievement when he takes the field for Week 1 vs. the Washington Commanders.

The New York Giants' new quarterback will be starting his 200th career game.

That will make him the 16th QB in NFL history to reach that milestone, according to ESPN.

And now for some irony: There's only one other quarterback in the league's history who made his 200th career start in Week 1. That guy? Eli Manning, in 2017.

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Wilson, of course, has traveled a very different path to making his 200th NFL start.

Manning did it all in a Giants uniform. He won two Super Bowls, too.

Wilson began his career in Seattle with the Seahawks. Then it was on to the Denver Broncos. From there, the Pittsburgh Steelers. And now, finally, the Giants.

There are no guarantees that Wilson gets to start for the whole season. Not only did the Giants sign him in free agency, but they also signed fellow veteran Jameis Winston.

And of course the elephant in the room is Jaxson Dart. The talented rookie required a trade back into the first round to get him at No. 25 overall out of Ole Miss, and Dart looked sharp in the preseason.

If Wilson struggles at all, or if this season begins to turn into a rebuild, Dart could see the field sooner rather than later.

But for now, Wilson joins that exclusive 200-start club of NFL quarterbacks. He was undersized and doubted, but he's persisted and lasted. It's a special feat.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle