The Giants are crazy for thinking about an Eli Manning extension

There are rumors swirling that the Giants not only will not take a quarterback with the sixth overall pick, but that they’ll actually extend Eli Manning’s contract to the 2020 season.  I’m not sure what Dave Gettleman is trying to do but whatever it is it’s wrong.

For some reason, Giants fans and Gettleman alike have this affinity for Eli Manning.  He’s still the quarterback after missing the playoffs in four straight seasons.  He’s still the quarterback despite not winning a playoff game since 2011.  He’s the quarterback because he’s a two time Super Bowl MVP, even though his MVPs came in 2007 and 2011.  Eli Manning is still the Giants quarterback because apparently winning a Super Bowl nearly a decade ago is a free pass.

Why are the Giants crazy for looking for extending Eli Manning, even for just another year?  Well there are really two main reasons;

How are you trying to construct this team?

Dave Gettleman seems to be steering this Giants team into no man’s land.  The way this roster is constructed it’s like he wants the Giants to finish 7-9.  There are still plenty of playmakers (Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram) but the defense is lacking, the offensive line still isn’t great, and Eli Manning is a bad aging quarterback.

The Giants may not get an opportunity like this again;  Picking in the top six with a relatively weak quarterback class but with one standout in Dwayne Haskins (and maybe Kyler Murray).  In addition, most of the teams in front of them are taking non-quarterbacks, except for possibly Arizona, and Haskins could fall right into the Giants’ lap.  Why would they blow this chance by giving Eli Manning an extension?

The two are not mutually exclusive as the Giants could very well both pick Haskins and extend Manning, but what kind of sense does that make?  You’re intentionally going to hold back your future quarterback for Eli Manning?  It’s a little different with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers because Favre still had some left in the tank.  Manning looks to be on empty and any kind of extension would be ludicrous.

Eli is a shell of himself

The two go hand-in-hand but Eli Manning is no longer a good quarterback.  He hasn’t been a good quarterback in quite a while.  Everyone will point to the offensive line, which has been horrendous over the past three seasons, but Manning hasn’t been much better.

He had the third worst deep pass (20+ yards) rating among starting quarterbacks and his mobility leaves a lot to be desired.  It seems more and more Manning will give himself up at just a moment’s notice instead of trying to extend the play.  It’s one thing to protect yourself, it’s another to cower at the sight of a defensive lineman.

Not only has Manning been poor with his deep passes, but his touchdown to interception ratio has plummeted over the past three seasons.  He started his career as a turnover prone QB (look at his 2007 stats) but he’s only had one season in four years where he has had ten more touchdowns than interceptions.  That’s not a good sign especially in this offense happy league.

Eli Manning has somehow conned his way into at least two seasons where he shouldn’t have been the Giants’ quarterback, and he’s about to do it again for one more year.  This isn’t a knock on Manning’s accomplishments, as he’s the greatest quarterback in Giants history and a two time Super Bowl MVP.  However, he needs to know when to hang up the cleats.

Is it his fault that Dave Gettleman is obsessed with him?  No of course not, and if he’s going to give him another $20M+ extension I don’t blame Manning for taking it.  However, I do blame both of them for not being flexible for the future.  Manning has stated multiple times he does not want to be in any sort of mentor role, and Gettleman has stated more than a few times that Manning is the quarterback of the Giants.

This all needs to get sorted out or the 2025 Giants will still have Eli Manning as their quarterback.  For all his accomplishments, the Giants still need to let Eli Manning go.  Forget about an extension;  They need to cut him loose next season.