BREAKING NEWS: Daniel Jones’ injury makes Eli Manning “very likely” to start Monday

Eli Manning is “very likely” to be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants on Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles, per Giants coach Pat Shurmur. That is because Daniel Jones has a mild high-ankle sprain and is in a walking boot.

Jones was injured Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. He continued and finished the game, though he was limping at times.

Shurmur had said on Monday that he thought Jones was “fine” and that he expected the quarterback to practice as usual this week.

Per a variety of reports, Jones went for an MRI that revealed the extent of the injury after Shurmur’s Monday remarks.

“I knew something was wrong with my ankle but didn’t know how bad. It’s disappointing,” Jones said, per the team’s official website.” I’m going to take it day by day to heal as quick as I can.”

Here’s more from Jones:

Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweeted a video of how Jones was injured. This came on a zone read where Jones ran for a first down, illustrating that while running quarterbacks help an offense it also puts them in danger.

The other thing it illustrates? How fortunate the Giants were not to have Manning miss a start for 16 seasons.

Jones’ injury is said not to be as severe as the high ankle sprain that cost running back Saquon Barkley 31/2 games, and Shurmur told media in attendance that Jones would not need surgery.

Still, with just four games remaining in the season it’s fair to wonder if it’s possible we will see the 38-year-old Manning, benched after Week 2 with the Giants at 0-2, starting for the remainder of the season.

So, could this be a four-game farewell tour for Manning? Could this be an opportunity for him to show a quarterback-needy team that he still has something to give in 2020?

No matter what, it is an interesting and unexpected development. It’s also the first time we have seen this, Manning with a bunch of microphones stuck in his face, for a while.