Eli Manning is one of a few notable quarterbacks heading into the final year of his current contract, but a team source tells Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News that the Giants are confident a new deal will eventually get done, and agent Tom Condon echoes that sentiment, suggesting he doesn’t expect his client to reach free agency.
“The interesting part about it is, since 1993, the inception of free agency, has there ever been an elite quarterback hit the open market?” Condon said. “Peyton [Manning did in 2012], but he had four neck surgeries and no idea if he would ever be well enough to play. Drew Brees, when he went to New Orleans, he had 15 studs in his shoulder, in his throwing arm. … There’s nobody else that’s ever come up. They just re-do you.”
While quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Sam Bradford, and Nick Foles are also discussing extensions with their respective teams, the most similar case to Manning’s is Philip Rivers in San Diego. Rivers has had a little more regular season success than his fellow 2004 first-rounder, while Manning has excelled in the postseason, winning a pair of Super Bowls. Both veteran signal-callers are expected to re-up with their current teams at some point, perhaps using Ben Roethlisberger‘s recent extension with the Steelers as a point of reference.
It’s not clear if the the Giants and Manning anticipate reaching an agreement before the 2015 season begins, but even if no new deal is in place by then and talks are shelved until 2016, there would still be plenty of time to work something out. The Giants could also use the franchise tag to prevent the two-time Super Bowl MVP from hitting the open market. No matter how the situation plays out, Condon is optimistic that Manning will remain in New York.
“The quarterbacks always get done,” Condon said. “And the Giants are not a skittish team. So it’s not one of those things where they get nervous or they jump around or anything like that. You know you’re going to go in and it’s going to get done. I’m sure at the appropriate time it’ll happen.”