Many teams seek QBs, but Manning may stay in Blue
Pat Shurmur finally made the call Tuesday morning, changing Giants history after 15 years.
Sunday, Daniel Jones, the sixth overall pick, takes over for Eli Manning, whose offense is averaging just 15.5 points per game through an 0-2 start. The rookie Jones played one series already in the Giants’ season-opening blowout in Dallas in Week 1.
“Eli and I spoke this morning,” Shurmur said in a team statement released Tuesday. “I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games.
“Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday.”
Manning has been the Giants’ starting quarterback since he replaced Kurt Warner with seven games remaining in his rookie season in 2004. He has started 232 of the Giants’ last 233 regularseason games.
The loss Sunday to the Bills dropped his record to an even .500 at 116-116. He is 8-4 (.667) in the postseason, including victories and MVP awards in both Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.
Manning started 210 consecutive regular-season games from Nov. 21, 2004 to Nov. 23, 2017, the second-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history. Only Brett Favre (297) started more consecutive games than Manning.
He did not play on Dec. 3, 2017 at Oakland after Ben McAdoo attempted to take a look at other quarterbacks Geno Smith and Davis Webb, but Manning refused to play only half and yield to Smith in the second, and did not play the entire game.
McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese were fired the next day. Manning returned to the lineup the following week and has since started all 22 games the Giants have played.
He will be Jones’ backup in Tampa Bay on Sunday.
“Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time,” Shurmur said. “I have said it since I got here, I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli.”
Manning holds all of the Giants’ career passing records, including attempts (8,061, which places him sixth in NFL history), completions (4,860, sixth), passing yards (56,537, seventh) and touchdown passes (362, eighth).
Early reports are that Manning is not looking to waive his no-trade clause to leave New York and appears to prefer retiring as a career Giant.
There are franchises who may be looking for a quarterback midseason where he theoretically may fit. They include Indianapolis, where his older brother Peyton played the bulk of his career for the Colts and Andrew Luck retired, leaving Jacoby Brissett their starter.
There’s also Jacksonville, where the Jaguars’ Nick Foles is injured and Manning’s former Giants coach Tom Coughlin is running the show from the front office with rookie QB Gardner Minshew.
Chicago and Tennessee are also franchises where the pressure is on the Bears’ Mitchell Tru