Mike Florio gives Russell Wilson a reality check after Giants QB decides to stay despite losing starting job to Jameis Winston

Russell Wilson has refused to request a release from the New York Giants despite being demoted to third-string quarterback behind Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston. After Giants interim coach Mike Kafka named Winston the starter for Week 11, Wilson addressed the media and expressed his commitment to the organization.

"I love it here," Wilson said on Wednesday. "I love my teammates. I want to see it through.I haven't asked for a release or anything like that. I want to be here."

NBC Sports' Mike Florio delivered a blunt reality check on Wilson's situation.

"Look, this is part of the life cycle of a football player," Florio said on Wednesday, via "Pro Football Talk." "I think any professional athlete. A lot of times, the player himself is the last one to know it's over, and it's not an easy thing to process when you think about it. That becomes so much part of your identity."

Florio highlighted that football helped Wilson meet his wife, establish his celebrity status and accomplish most of the things in his life.

"He's not the guy that he was, and for the quarterbacks who rely on mobility," Florio said. "This quest to play past the age of 40 becomes much harder to attain because the legs are going to go before the arm goes and the guys who are going to see make it past 40 are the guys who never ran much, like Tom Brady, like Matthew Stafford.

"For Russell Wilson, that never really happened and he's just ordinary now."

He added that quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes will have to transform into pocket passers if they want to continue playing past 40. Florio also noted that Steve Young and Steve McNair improved their running and focused more on becoming pocket passers as they got older.

Russell Wilson's struggles with the Giants

Russell Wilson opened this season as the Giants' starter after he signed in March as a free agent. However, the quarterback's early performance showed that his game has declined.

Wilson completed 66 of 119 passes (55.5%) for 786 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions across his first four starts.

He went 17 of 37 passes for 168 yards and 4.5 yards per attempt in the 21-6 loss to Washington in Week 1. Wilson completed 18 of 32 passes for 160 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions, averaging 5.0 yards per attempt, versus Kansas City two weeks later.

Wilson shined against the Cowboys in Week 2, completing 30 of 41 passes for 450 yards with three touchdowns in the 40-37 overtime defeat. After four weeks of disappointing performance, New York decided to bench Wilson for Jaxson Dart.

When Dart suffered a concussion during Week 10 against Chicago, the Giants returned to Wilson, but he threw an interception in the fourth quarter. It led to New York interim coach Mike Kafka elevating Jameis Winston to the starting role on Wednesday for Week 11 against Green Bay.