Report: Giants expected to re-install Eli Manning as starting quarterback
Now that the New York Giants have started to clean house, firing head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese on Monday, the natural question is what happens to franchise cornerstone Eli Manning.
According to ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Raanan, interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo and the rest of the team’s staff will turn back to Manning as New York hosts NFC East rival Dallas on Sunday. The Washington Post’s Mark Maske also tweeted that there’s a “strong chance” Manning will be re-installed as the starter.
The Giants are expected to go back to Eli Manning as their starting quarterback, per source. Giants play at home vs Cowboys this week.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 4, 2017
It’s not much of a surprise if this turns out to be the case.
Manning’s 14th season wasn’t his best statistically – he has just 14 touchdown passes in 11 games and his 6.1 yards per attempt is on pace to be the lowest since his rookie year – but he was also working with a leaky offensive line (he’s sacked 2.4 times a game, on pace for second-most in his career), has one of the least-productive run games in the league (though that could be a product of the Giants being behind so often), and has been working without Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, who were expected to be his top receivers this season.
McAdoo announced last week that he was benching Manning and starting Geno Smith against the Oakland Raiders. Rookie Davis Webb, ostensibly the team’s future at the position, was not even in uniform.
Smith was pretty much the quarterback we came to know when he was with the Jets, and the Giants lost their 10th game of the year.
It’s understandable that the Giants and their fans would start to look toward the future with Manning now 36 years old, but McAdoo’s biggest mistake was in the way he handled the situation. Manning’s streak of starting 210 consecutive games was not the only reason to keep starting him, but it did speak to his ability to be available for his team every week. And it’s been ended for what really? McAdoo stubbornly stood by his misguided decision, and now it has cost him his job.
More from Yahoo Sports:
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• NFL Playoff Projections: So much for the Separation Sunday
