After losing his job to rookie Jones, what’s next for Eli Manning?
The New York Giants hit Eli Manning with the “it’s not you, it’s me” line. The Giants announced Tuesday morning that they were benching Manning in favor of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who will become the team’s starting quarterback for their Week 3 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and beyond.
“This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said in a statement that announced the move.
But Manning is a two-time Super Bowl MVP, and depending on where you fall on the debate may or may not have credentials to eventually end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What does this move now mean for Manning?
In essence, he instantly becomes the highest-paid, most-accomplished backup in the NFL. He’s well respected and since there is a healthy mutual respect between player and team, he should step into his role of mentoring Jones, as much as he may be disappointed with the benching.
But that’s only for the short term. Manning is playing the final season of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He’ll turn 39 in January and needs to decide whether he wants to continue his NFL career. At this point, Manning almost certainly wouldn’t take a different backup job and wouldn’t want to play for a team not in contention for the postseason.
A trade is possible, but out of respect to Manning and his 16 seasons of service to the franchise, the Giants would consult with him before proposing any switch. Manning has a no-trade clause baked into his contract, anyway, so a move wouldn’t be possible without his approval.
One potential landing spot could be the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their starting quarterback, Nick Foles, broke his clavicle in the regular season opener and since turned to rookie sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew. Foles will eventually return. But Manning could provide a shortterm stopgap solution that gets him on the field again for a team with enough talent to fight for a postseason berth, despite its 0-2 record.
It also wouldn’t hurt that in Jacksonville Manning would be reuniting with former Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who coached Manning from 2004-15 and helped him win those two Super Bowls. Coughlin currently serves as the executive vice president of football operations for the Jaguars.
Given Manning’s sluggish start to the season – he has completed just 62.9% of his passes for 556 yards for two touchdowns and two interceptions – it’s tough to envision many teams being interested, or, at least, interested enough to part with assets to acquire him.
Assessing the quarterback landscape across the league, it’s a challenge to come up with any other potential landing spots. The Steelers, for example, just had Ben Roethlisberger land on injured reserve with an elbow injury that will require surgery and end his season, but all indications are that Pittsburgh wants to see what it has in backup Mason Rudolph.
New York could also grant Manning his release, but before that happens, there would almost certainly need to be discussions between both parties. And again, the franchise almost certainly wouldn’t go through with a move like that unless Manning gave his blessing. That would allow Manning to hit the market and weigh any potential interest he might garner.
Retirement, too, is an option for Manning. Given what he has meant to the Giants, if that’s the eventual plan, it’s reasonable to assume that Manning would ride out the remainder of the season before announcing that move.
Manning now sits with 56,537 career passing yards, 362 touchdowns, 241 interceptions and a poetic 116-116 record as a starter.
It’s hard not to fault the Giants here. This is the right move for them for now and for the future. Jones showed promise in the preseason, and because the offense has stagnated, it only makes sense to give the rookie some live game repetitions to let him grow and develop.
You can make the argument that for a long stretch, New York acted against its own self-interests in order to retain Manning. This switch could’ve – perhaps should’ve – come long ago. (USA Today/TNS)