Manning: "I Plan On Playing Next Season"
- Despite being benched for the remainder of the regular season, Eli Manning remained rather unequivocal when asked if he will suit up for another year in the league, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. “I plan on playing next season,” Manning said twice Sunday after the Giants‘ 24-17 loss to the Raiders. It’s more likely that the veteran signal caller won’t be back with the Giants after what’s transpired this past week. However, that doesn’t mean Manning won’t have his suitors. While he may be 37 years old heading into next season, the two-time Super Bowl winning QB should garner interest from a host of quarterback needy teams. Manning is clearly not the player he once was, but with the need at the position still so high around the league, his track record is tough to come by on the open market. He’s under contract with New York for 2018-19, but the front office could trade him at some point in the offseason or release him before March 18, 2018, when he is due a $5MM roster bonus.
Giants Have Not Had Talks With Any Upcoming Key Free Agents
- The Giants have been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the last week, from Eli Manning‘s controversial benching to Ben McAdoo‘s possible in-season ouster. But as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, the team has not had any talks with any of its key upcoming free agents like Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg. Of course, there could be any number of reasons for that, but Schefter says the situation in New York has grown “depressing and dysfunctional,” and players on expiring contracts are happy to accept the team’s unofficial invitation to test the open market.
Latest On Eli Manning
The Giants’ decision to bench Eli Manning has created plenty of drama in the football world over the last week, and the way head coach Ben McAdoo handled the benching might have cost him his job. It is now difficult to envision Manning returning to Big Blue next season — although team owner John Mara did not foreclose that possibility — but there are any number of quarterback-needy clubs who would love to have Manning under center for a couple of years.
Manning himself has said that he is not planning to retire, so there has already been a great deal of speculation as to which teams could be in play for his services this offseason. But Manning’s father, Archie Manning, has suggested that his son could indeed hang up the cleats.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Archie said that Eli was heartbroken over the benching, which was perhaps exacerbated by the way McAdoo handled it (Manning was apparently made to feel like a scapegoat when New York brass simply wanted to evaluate the rest of its roster in a lost season). Archie said, “Eli’s passion for the Giants goes deeper than most and I’ve mentioned it through the years. Eli loves playing for the New York Giants. He just does. He just loves it, I think more than most. So therefore, it broke his heart.”
Archie went on to say that Eli could simply call it a career and stay home with his wife and three daughters. After all, he has two Super Bowl trophies — to go along with two Super Bowl MVP awards — a young family, and more money than he could ever hope to spend. He has nothing left to prove, and Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweets that all options, including retirement, are on the table.
But it would still be hard to imagine Manning not playing in 2018. The Jaguars have been mentioned as a logical landing spot for him, which Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reiterated today (per La Canfora, who also indicated that Manning has absolutely no intention of retiring, several GMs say Manning-to-Jacksonville makes too much sense to not happen). The Broncos also make some sense, though Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post suggests a second Manning-Denver marriage is unlikely.
In any event, Manning will not suit up for the Giants again (at least in 2017) barring injury to one of the team’s other QBs. Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk (citing ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio), McAdoo has vowed that he will not bench Geno Smith today, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com says the team legitimately like Smith and wants to take a real look at him.
Giants Could Fire Ben McAdoo After Today’s Game
The Giants could fire head coach Ben McAdoo within 24 hours of the team’s game against the Raiders today, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.
Less than a month ago, we heard that New York would at least give McAdoo the opportunity to finish out the season, his second as the Giants’ head coach. And that made sense, given the number of injuries the Giants have dealt with this year and the fact that they did make the playoffs in 2016.
But that was before the now infamous benching of Eli Manning. Schefter and Mortensen report that the decision to sit the Giants’ longtime signal-caller could be the “final straw” for McAdoo, which is interesting because team owner John Mara admitted earlier this week that he was the one that suggested to GM Jerry Reese that it could be time to evaluate other quarterbacks. However, per ESPN, it does not sound as if Mara is displeased with the benching itself; he just did not like how McAdoo presented the plan to Manning, whom Mara adores. That underscores McAdoo’s perceived lack of communication skills, which has also manifested itself in his interactions with players like Dominiqiue Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins this year (to say nothing of the team’s lack of offensive creativity in its efforts to overcome its myriad injuries).
Schefter and Mortensen report that Reese’s job security is also quite tenuous (although it seems unlikely that Reese would be fired before the end of the season). If McAdoo is indeed fired, he would be the first Giants coach to be let go before two full seasons since 1930, as James Kratch of NJ.com tweets (Ray Handley was handed a pink slip after he led Big Blue to a 14-18 record in 1991-92, but he at least got to the end of the 1992 season). He would also be the first domino to fall in what is expected to be a busy firing/hiring season, as eight to 10 head coaching jobs could become available.
The Giants have not offered a comment on the ESPN report. Kratch says if McAdoo is fired, offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan is the most likely interim candidate (Twitter link).
Free Agent OT Michael Bowie Suspended
It’s been a bad past few months for free agent offensive lineman Michael Bowie. After being released by the Giants in August following a domestic assault charge, the 26-year-old has now been suspended by the NFL for six games for the incident should he catch on with another team, reports to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Bowie was the Seahawks seventh round pick back in 2013, and actually played in nine games in his rookie season. However, the lineman hasn’t appeared in a game since that time. Bowie signed with New York on futures contract before the start of training camp, but was immediately released after those domestic violence charges were brought upon him.
The lineman’s career had already been in-flux prior to the incident given that he was projected as the team’s third string tackle. Now it appears even more unlikely that Bowie will get another opportunity to make a career turnaround following this latest news.
Giants Notes: Manning, Webb
In theory, Eli Manning could be back in New York next year. But former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride doesn’t see that happening.
- The Giants have a plan for increasing rookie quarterback Davis Webb‘s reps and getting into a game, coach Ben McAdoo tells reporters (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan). However, McAdoo declined to share the details of how and when he intends to get Webb involved. What we do know is that Webb will not be the QB1 or QB2 this weekend when the Giants face the Raiders in Oakland this weekend.
Eli Manning Weighing 2018 Options
- Despite the Giants‘ panned decision to bench Eli Manning, the franchise quarterback places a value on playing an entire career for one team, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. So, a Tony Romo-esque exit shouldn’t be ruled out. However, Manning reportedly wants to continue playing and sees “several” destinations that would suit him. Breer adds Manning won’t simply go to a quarterback-needy team just for the sake of continuing his career, though. Despite Manning having a sub-par age-36 season as the Giants slog through an injury-riddled campaign, multiple defensive coaches told Breer the 14th-year passer still has quality football left. “I think he has a lot left,” one of the coaches told Breer. “No offensive line, zero run game and he lost his four top receivers in the same game. So it’s hard to truly assess him.” Although it’s early to make these proclamations, Breer sets the Tom Coughlin-led Jaguars as the frontrunner to land Manning.
Orleans Darkwa Earns Incentive Bonus
- Giants running back Orleans Darkwa earned a $150K bonus by surpassing 500 yards rushing for the season on Sunday, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. While New York’s offense has been extremely poor as a unit, Darkwa has been surprisingly effective. In 10 games (seven starts), the 25-year-old Darkwa has averaged 4.6 yards per carry and ranks as a top-15 back in DVOA, DYAR, and success rate, all of which are Football Outsiders metrics. Darkwa is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the spring after earning $1.1MM in base salary this year.
NFL Workout Updates: 11/29/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
- C Anthony Fabiano; T Justin Murray; LB Max Valles; CBs Dejuan Butler, Nick Marshall; P Jeff Locke (Twitter links)
Cleveland Browns
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- S Duke Ihenacho (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- K Andrew Franks (link)
New York Giants
- CBs Taveze Calhoun, Daquan Holmes, Jeremiah McKinnon, Josh Thornton (link)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Adam Gettis (link)
Washington Redskins
Giants Owner John Mara On Eli Manning
The Giants’ decision to bench Eli Manning on Sunday ignited a firestorm of controversy in the football world. On Wednesday, owner John Mara addressed reporters directly to discuss the future of the team’s quarterback position as well as the job security of head coach Ben McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese. Here’s a look at the highlights with all links going to Twitter: 
- Mara says the Giants “obviously have some decisions to make this offseason” when it comes to the head coach and GM positions (link via Tom Rock of Newsday). Some say that McAdoo has lost control of the locker room, as underscored by the team’s saga with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie earlier this year. Meanwhile, Reese has been criticized for failing to build the team through the draft in recent years.
- Mara is adamant that the original plan was for Manning to play on Sunday, but perhaps not for the whole game (link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). However, he says he understands why Manning wasn’t on board and admitted that it probably could have been handled differently.
- “I don’t think you should be writing his obituary just yet,” Mara said when asked about Manning’s future in New York (link via Raanan). Still, the Giants have a big decision to make before March 14th, the date that Manning’s $5MM roster bonus comes due.
- Mara says he first suggested to Reese a week or two ago that it might be time to look at other quarterbacks (link via Raanan).
- Any suggestion that the Giants are tanking is “complete [B.S.],” Mara says (link via James Kratch of NJ.com). A reminder: The Giants are 2-9 and will start Geno Smith under center on Sunday.