Even though his starting job has been yanked out from underneath him for the second time in three seasons -- permanently, this time, barring an injury to first-round pick Daniel Jones -- despite prior indications from higher-ups that the starting job belonged to him this season, Eli Manning isn't looking to flee New York in search of another starting opportunity before he rides off into the sunset (likely for Canton). It certainly sounds like Manning will spend the final 14 games of the season and quite possibly his career watching the Giants from the sidelines.
According to SNY's Ralph Vacchiano, Manning "has no immediate plans to waive" his no full no-trade clause, which would prevent the Giants from flipping Manning for a draft pick from a quarterback-desperate team before the Oct. 29 trade deadline. According to SNY, it's an outcome the Giants had hoped for because they want Manning to stick around to mentor Jones and retire as a career-long member of the franchise. However, SNY added that the Giants "surely would consider granting any trade request" if Manning were to change his mind before the deadline, which SNY notes is a possibility. But for now, in the immediate aftermath of the Giants' decision to bench him for Jones, Manning has decided to stick it out in New York.
Meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Manning indirectly confirmed SNY's report by accepting his new role with the team and vowing to support Jones.
Eli Manning: There’s a lot to be grateful for. I’m going to accept my new role and make the best of it.
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 18, 2019
Eli Manning: I didn’t know how everything was going to shake out this year...you know when you draft a young quarterback there’s always a possibility.
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 18, 2019
Eli Manning: I knew there was a possibility...I said I’d handle it and support Daniel and be a good teammate.
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 18, 2019
Eli Manning: There’s no other option than just to handle it and support my teammates and support the Giants.
— New York Giants (@Giants) September 18, 2019
Manning's decision makes sense for a number of reasons. As SNY noted, Manning and his wife have four children. He probably doesn't want to suddenly relocate his family or spend a season away from them.
Then there's the issue of legacy. As it stands, assuming Manning retires at the end of the season, he will have played for only one team throughout his career -- and no, we're not going to count the Chargers, who drafted Manning first overall in 2004, but immediately traded him to the Giants. Would Manning really want to ruin that aspect of his legacy for the chance to start 10 or so games for another franchise? Or would he rather ride out the remainder of the season and retire as a career-long member and a legend of the Giants?
Speaking of legacy, it's not like Manning is trying to chase down his first Super Bowl ring before he retires. He's already won two of those with the Giants -- which pretty much makes up the entirety of his Hall of Fame argument. We can eliminate that motivation from the list.
And finally, there's also the simple fact that Manning, at this stage in his career, isn't very good, meaning he might find it difficult to wind up on a contender that needs a quarterback. Put another way, even though starting quarterbacks are dropping like flies -- from Andrew Luck to Nick Foles to Drew Brees to Ben Roethlisberger to Cam Newton to Sam Darnold -- is there a team that would rather have Manning than their current starter? The Colts are more than happy with Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew has looked like an adequate fill in for the Jaguars, the Saints already invested a good amount of money in Teddy Bridgewater as their contingency plan, the Steelers appear to be confident in 2018 third-round pick Mason Rudolph, the Panthers kept two quarterbacks behind Newton on the depth chart, and the Giants aren't going to trade Manning to the other New York team.
But if Manning does change his mind before the trade deadline and the Giants decide that they'd very much like to acquire a draft pick for their aging quarterback and some quarterback-needy team decides Manning would be an upgrade, where could he wind up? Glad you asked.
On Tuesday, John Breech took a look at five possible landing spots. As Breech noted in his story, Manning's contract is actually very tradeable. It wouldn't be a hindrance in trade talks. Manning is playing out the final year of his deal and "any team that trades for him would only owe him roughly $10.14 million for the rest of the season," as Breech wrote.
But as of Wednesday, an Eli Manning trade appears to be unlikely mainly because, well, he doesn't want to be traded and the Giants don't want to trade him.
