25 Questions in 25 Days

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25 Questions in 25 Days: Candidates for captains

Jul 17, 2025 at 11:14 AM

Dan Salomone

Senior Managing Editor, Giants.com

Giants.com is counting down to the start of 2025 Giants Training Camp with 25 questions in 25 days.

6) Who do you think will be team captains?

Dan Salomone: The first question that needs to be answered is how many. From 2009 to 2017, the Giants had three season-long team captains seven times. They had five captains in 2013 and 2014 before reverting to three from 2015 to 2017. That number doubled to six captains every year from 2018 to 2021.

In Brian Daboll's first two seasons as head coach, the Giants had 10 captains. Last year, they had five: quarterback Daniel Jones (sixth time), left tackle Andrew Thomas (third), defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence (third), linebacker Bobby Okereke (second), and long snapper Casey Kreiter (second, not consecutively).

It remains to be seen how they structure this year's leadership group, but Thomas, Lawrence, Okereke and Kreiter seem likely to add another star to their captain patch. If there is just one vacancy, based on everything coming out of spring football, Russell Wilson is a prime candidate.

Teammates spoke glowingly about the 10-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion – and they will be the ones who vote.

Wilson was voted a captain for his lone season in Pittsburgh, marking 12 consecutive seasons of him receiving that honor between the Broncos and Seahawks. The only time he wasn't a captain was his rookie year in 2012.

If the Giants exceed five captains, Darius Slayton would certainly be on a lot of ballots. The veteran wide receiver is set to become a member of the Giants' 100-game club and was the team's 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.

Could Malik Nabers, who set the 100-year-old franchise's receptions record as a rookie, get the patch as a sophomore? He certainly has the competitive fire that draws teammates to him.

Kicker Graham Gano is the longest-tenured NFL player on the roster and has been a captain in the past. Outside linebacker Brian Burns is a veteran voice who produces at a high level every season. Offensive lineman Greg Van Roten was the only Giant who didn't miss a single snap on his respective side of the ball last season, something that doesn't go unnoticed. Micah McFadden, meanwhile, might be the most underrated player on the team from an outside perspective. It is another story internally, and linebackers make natural captains. Safety Dane Belton logs a lot of snaps on special teams. He could be like Julian Love, who got a lot of votes on both defense and special teams a few years ago. Staying in the secondary, the Giants signed established veterans in Paulson Adebo and Jevón Holland, who will play major roles on the field and in the locker room.

With plenty of worthy candidates, players will vote sometime in late August after the 53-man roster is announced.