Berrios Says Giants Quietly Had Him as Their Emergency QB Plan Against the Rams

Braxton Berrios said the Giants quietly identified him, not Jake Haener, as their fallback option at quarterback if Jameis Winston went down in the Sept. 21 loss to the Rams, according to an on-the-record account reported by Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com and The Record, syndicated by Yahoo Sports.

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Berrios, a wide receiver and return specialist, said someone informally gave him the word he'd take snaps at quarterback if something happened to Winston, who had just replaced the injured Jaxson Dart.

"Everybody always talks about, 'One snap away, one snap away,' and I was one snap away," Berrios told NorthJersey.com and The Record at his locker following Friday's practice, according to Stapleton's report. "We had briefly talked about it before, and you let it go because, let's be honest, no one wants what happened to Jaxson to happen. But then you're in that moment, still not thinking about it, and someone says, 'Oh, by the way, if something happens to Jameis, remember it's you at QB.'"

"That's something no one wants unless we absolutely have no choice," Berrios said.

Dart left the game with a knee injury that required season-ending surgery to repair his MCL and meniscus. Winston finished 11 of 27 for 111 yards with an interception in a 28-6 loss at SoFi Stadium.

GiantsGator reported that night that the Giants had no NFL-rules-eligible emergency quarterback on the active roster once Dart went down. Haener, the only other quarterback on the roster, was on the practice squad and could not be elevated under league rules. That story quoted Dan Duggan of The Athletic, who posted in real time: "Since the Giants don't have an emergency QB, trying to figure out what they'd do if something happens to Jameis. No obvious candidates."

The roster rule Duggan and GiantsGator described that night is still accurate. Berrios' account adds a fact nobody reported at the time: The Giants had an informal answer in-house, and it was Berrios, an active-roster player whose only NFL pass attempt went for a touchdown on a double reverse with the Jets. He played quarterback at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"Quarterback is the hardest position in sports for a reason, there's a lot to learn and a lot to know," Berrios said. "I know the playbook as a wide receiver, I know all the spots, the X, the Y, the Z, so from that perspective, I know our offense. But let's just hope for Jameis to stay healthy, play well and lead us to the win. I'm good if I get to do my actual jobs and stay two snaps away from trying to play quarterback in the NFL."

The Giants still haven't added a quarterback beyond Winston and Haener. NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Saturday that general manager Joe Schoen has worked the phones on quarterback trades since Dart's injury and that an addition is "a matter of when, not if." Coach John Harbaugh said this week the team is "in the process" of adding a passer.

Berrios remains the Giants' unofficial third quarterback, by his own account, until that happens. Pelissero reported the move could come as soon as Monday, the day after the Giants host the Titans.