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Eli Manning will stay with the New York Giants next season — if co-owner John Mara gets his way.
Asked if he wants Eli Manning back in 2018, Giants owner John Mara said, “Yes.” Allowed that obviously new GM and coach will be involved, and a QB could be drafted.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 13, 2017
We noted earlier that oddsmakers have made the Giants the favorite for where Manning will play in 2018, his 15th NFL season.
Manning has not had a good season. Working with backup wide receivers and a poor offensive line that has been in a constant state of flux all season, Manning’s average of 219.9 passing yards per game is his lowest since 2008. His yards per attempt (6.0) and yards per completion (9.5) are career worsts.
As a team, the Giants have scored 199 points. The fewest they have ever scored in a 16-game season is 237. They will have to average 13.0 points over the final three games to avoid setting a franchise record for offensive futility.
After being benched by then-coach Ben McAdoo and having his streak of 210 consecutive starts snapped, Manning has said repeatedly that he has no plans to retire after this season.
Manning has two years remaining on his Giants contract.
What it means
Maybe nothing. Maybe a lot.
A plan for Manning and the long-term future for the Giants at quarterback is one of the things we have listed as a pre-requisite for Giants general manager candidates. While Mara indicated that of course a new GM and coach would have input, he has made his preference known. That likely will impact whoever eventually gets the GM job.
Will Manning even want to stay?
He has said the Giants are all he knows. If he comes back next year, though, he will also know that the said has nearly reached the bottom of the hour glass. The Giants could use their first-round pick, likely No. 2 overall, on a quarterback. Todd McShay of EsPN has them selecting UCLA’s Josh Rosen in his first 2018 NFL mock draft, released Wednesday.
That would make Manning little more than a placeholder, the 2018 version of 2004 Kurt Warner. Will he want to be that?
What of Davis Webb, the rookie QB who has yet to be active for a game this season? Mara apparently told media at the Winter League Meetings Wednesday that whether or not Webb plays at all this season will be a coaching decision. Interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo said Wednesday there are currently no plans to activate him for Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.