MESSAGE FROM ELI
Lets team brass know he’s still got some fire left in him
SO Eli Manning delivered a fiery speech before the Giants beat the Chiefs, 12-9 in OT, on Sunday, but the question remains: Will Manning still be the Giants’ quarterback in 2018, especially if the organization has a new GM and head coach?
There hasn’t been this much uncertainty surrounding the Giants’ quarterback situation since Manning took the reigns in 2004, especially given the conflicting signs of this past weekend.
First, on Saturday night, GM Jerry Reese’s presence in Los Angeles scouting USC quarterback Sam Darnold and UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen appeared to reinforce that the Giants, headed for a top-five draft pick at 2-8, are considering drafting a QB who could be the centerpiece of their future.
But then on Sunday, the Giants left their own rookie QB and 2017 third-round pick Davis Webb inactive for a 10th straight game, declining another opportunity to see Webb play a real game before possibly making a franchise-altering draft pick at the same position next spring. Keeping Webb inactive is exactly the opposite tactic expected of a team planning to reset or rebuild.
Further clouding the picture was the emotion Giants’ players showed in support of Manning postgame, when coach Ben McAdoo called him into the center of the room to break the team down. Manning, 36, marginalized in discussions of this team’s future due to his age, contract and underwhelmingly play, clearly still commands respect in that locker room.
How then do the Giants proceed at quarterback coming out of this dismal season with such a high draft pick? The answer right now appears to be that whether the Giants draft a quarterback in the first round or not, Manning is here to stay — for 2018 at least — despite costing $22.2 million against the cap, per OvertheCap.com, in the second-to-last year of his contract. Here's why: If the Giants plan on drafting Rosen with the second overall pick, they will want more in the QB room than Rosen, Webb and a veteran backup such as Geno Smith, were he to re-sign. On the contrary, it would be ideal to have Manning in the same room with Rosen and Webb, grooming the youngsters and buying the Giants time to avoid rushing either QB into game action. If the Giants don’t plan on drafting a QB in the top five, then Webb wouldn’t open next season as the starter because he hasn’t even been in uniform yet. His position coach, Frank Cignetti Jr., even said of Webb on Friday: “There’s no hurry.” So Manning still would be the starter, and the GM — whoever it is in April — could trade down with a team seeking a franchise QB and acquire more assets and still draft a talented lineman or linebacker, let's say. In both scenarios, Manning would stay and get at least one more season. Complicating matters, however, is that the jobs of both Reese and McAdoo are on the line, and their futures with the Giants could affect Manning’s. Firing McAdoo likely would mean a new offense. Would Manning be eager to learn a third offense in six years? Would the Giants even want him to? And would a new coach even want to inherit Manning when he could grow with his own young QB?
Manning also is expensive. He carries easily the team's largest cap hit and is not, from a value standpoint, performing well enough to validate that investment. It’s possible, especially if a new GM rolls in, that Manning might have to restructure that contract.
A new coach and GM could negatively affect Webb’s future as a Giant, too. A new management and coaching staff might draft a QB high in April’s first round and then consider him their guy.
Unspoken right now, though, is that while the Giants are scouting college quarterbacks aggressively, they might have a lot more confidence in Webb than they are letting on. And while they are doing due diligence on draft prospect QBs, they may not actually intend to draft one. And if they don’t take a QB in April, that would tell you Webb could be the man by 2019.
The plan was to give Webb time to develop. The Giants had immediate needs they could have addressed in last April’s third round and yet chose instead to take a QB they had graded closer to the high-firstround/early-second round range.
It wouldn’t be the Giants’ style to invest so much interest, time and development in a quarterback, only to draft a first-round QB over top of him one year later.
Don’t underestimate this, either: Webb and Odell Beckham get along well and having No. 13’s support means a lot in East Rutherford.
Darnold (6-4, 220), a sophomore who might not even enter the draft, is a big body with an arm who can extend plays with his feet and will lower his shoulder into defenders. But he’s raw and unrefined and would need time to develop. Rosen (6-4, 218), a junior, delivers a more accurate and appealing ball and appears more NFL-ready. But the Giants might not draft a QB at all.
It hinges on how drastically co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch change their front office and coaching staff. No one's job is safe.
It also depends on how strongly the Giants feel about Webb. But the longer Webb stays inactive, the less likely it feels the Giants would make a franchise-altering QB draft pick having only done homework on Webb in practice. Plus the Giants' players still respond to Manning, who wants to finish his career with Big Blue.
It’s still possible the Giants go QB high in April’s first round. Just don't push No. 10 out of the picture yet. It doesn't seem like he’s done.