Eli Manning does not sound like he’s ready to retire after this season. The 14th-year quarterback still wants to play and believes there are “several” destinations out there for him next year, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports.
This would throw a big name onto the quarterback market, one that could also include the likes of Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith and the Vikings’ passers. Graziano reports Manning has been hit “pretty hard” by this demotion, and while adding the caveat of this being too soon to know for sure how the Giants icon wants to proceed, the feeling is he doesn’t want his career to end like this.
Teams like the Jaguars and Broncos come to mind as otherwise well-stocked outfits with glaring holes at quarterback, with the Cardinals — who could observe a Carson Palmer retirement — profiling as such as well. Mike Jurecki of ArizonaSports.com, however, doesn’t see the Cards having interest in bringing in Manning (Twitter link). The Vikings have generated plenty from Case Keenum this season, but the defensively geared franchise does not have a quarterback under contract for 2018.
This would certainly point to Manning being willing to waive his no-trade clause in hopes of facilitating a trade to a logical team. Two years and more than $40MM remain on his deal, one that’s largely non-guaranteed. He has a $5MM roster bonus due March 14.
Manning will turn 37 in January. He’s two years removed from a Pro Bowl season that featured 35 touchdown passes. He threw 26 TDs last season. Saddled with a skeleton-crew receiving corps and an offensive line riddled with injuries, Manning has 14 TD passes and seven interceptions through 11 games in 2017.
Manning said earlier today he wasn’t thrilled with the Giants’ original plan. He found Giants management’s idea of letting him start games before being pulled at halftime as a phony way of going about this succession strategy, Graziano reports.
The Giants are not planning to keep Geno Smith in the starting lineup for long, either.
Graziano reports Davis Webb is expected to make the bulk of the starts down the stretch, perhaps beginning that run as soon as Week 14. The Giants didn’t feel it was right to throw the third-round rookie into the fray this week after receiving scant practice reps this season. But the current power structure wants to see what the rookie has before this rough season concludes.
Yes because its 100% Eli’s fault the Giants only have 2 wins. Not because they dont have a run game, or because they lost their top 3 WRs, have horrible linebackers, THE WORST head coach the league has seen in quiet a while cause we all know he can’t take responsibility he just throws Eli under the bus, and totally not their awful GM nope 100% Eli no other reason. Theres a bunch of other players that should’ve been benched before him
That you Archie…..?
Don’t forget to throw some blame at the front office, they needed a RB for like 182 years and couldn’t get a single decent one
Too bad the Texans couldn’t get Manning to try and salvage their season…I don’t follow the Giants but I’m shocked this is how Manning’s career with them is ending. He’d probably do well in Denver.
A disgrace. They were not going anywhere Eli deserves the chance to finish a season that isn’t his fault. They are going to draft a QB anyway. Cut him now. Let’s see if anyone bites. No guts. He’d start for a team by Sunday.
To say he is sitting because Smith gives them the best chance to win is beyond despicable. The Giants are now officially a No Class Organization.
Trade him to the Dolphins for Tannehill
I could maybe understand sitting him for Webb, and seeing if he is maybe the future, but Geno is clearly not. If Big Ben retires after the year, maybe the Steelers can make a move for Eli
I think that’s what they’re doing is basically sitting him for Webb; it sounds like they’re only going to start Geno for one week, just to get Webb some more practice reps before he starts.
I had a feeling going into last year’s draft that if Webb could get drafted by a team with an old successful QB (Steelers, Giants, Saints, etc) and sit and learn from them for a couple years, he could end up being the best QB of the draft down the line. Webb has said many times that Eli is a fantastic teammate so it sounds like he’s been learning a lot from him, he could be totally ready for this.
Still awful how the Giants went about this treating Eli this way… I’m a cowboys fan but now I want Eli to go somewhere else next year and have success