Many people assumed the Giants would move on from Eli Manning this offseason, but suddenly it seems like the veteran quarterback may not be all that close to the end of his tenure in New York.
Manning’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and retirement would make sense at that point considering he is 39 and nowhere near the level of player he used to be. However, Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch recently said they are taking things one season at a time and would not rule out Manning returning in 2019.
The team’s owners aren’t going to just come out and say Manning is done after 2019, but there’s also a growing belief that the Giants could keep Manning in 2020 if they don’t draft a quarterback early this year. They seem intent on not starting a rookie, which means they’d need a veteran to start again in 2020 if they don’t draft their QB of the future in 2019.
According to SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano, the Giants are not kidding about potentially keeping Manning on the roster for two more seasons.
“The key people in the organization don’t think he’s done, and they feel they saw a ton of positive signs in the second half last year,” Vacchiano wrote this week. “Ideally, they’ll have his successor ready to go next season. But if not, barring a disaster of a season, they won’t hesitate to extend Manning’s contract by a year. They really do want him around to rub off on the next Giants franchise quarterback, if they can make it work.”
One star player who was openly critical of Manning last year is no longer with the team, so perhaps that will make it easier to keep the two-time Super Bowl champion. Either way, it seems tough to imagine the Giants contending for a playoff spot again as long as Manning is still their quarterback.
