New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman is not committing his team’s future to veteran quarterback Eli Manning.
Celebrating his 38th birthday on Thursday, the 15-year veteran didn’t have a bad season of paper, completing a career-best 66-percent of his passes for 4,299 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions (his lowest total since 2010). But his presence under center saw the offense predicated by dink-and-dump passes given an inability to extend the play while under pressure.
Most of the blame should go to the offensive line not protecting an immobile quarterback well enough, but it’s becoming abundantly clear that the Giants’ offense can’t have a statuesque passer rooted in the pocket like Manning.
That’s not saying they need a scrambler, but they do need a talent that can at least move around well enough to give a talented core of receivers more time to get open.
It seems like Gettleman is at least considering that after speaking with the media on Wednesday.
Per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, Gettleman admitted that the Giants are in the “evaluation process” when it comes to Manning’s future with the team and that any decision “will be in the best interest” of the team.
Should he come to the conclusion that Manning is not the man for the Giants anymore, he’ll have to do some work to find his successor.
What are some QB options for the Giants?
If his brief outing against the Washington Redskins in Week 14 suggested anything, Kyle Lauletta is not cut out to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. An arrest earlier this season also brings his dependability into question.
Despite a 5-11 finish that yielded the sixth-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Giants likely aren’t going to find their next franchise quarterback during the selection process. This year’s crop of quarterbacks is very weak compared to last year’s loaded class that included Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen.
With Josh Herbert returning to Oregon for another year, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins becomes the top prospect under center. The sophomore passed for over 4,800 yards in 14 games this season with a 70-percent completion rating and 50 touchdowns. Three of those came during Tuesday’s Rose Bowl victory over Washington.
Seeing as he isn’t the overwhelming top prospect of the 2019 draft class, he can be had with the No. 6 pick should the Giants like what they see at the combine.
If not, the Giants might scour the free-agent market for a short-term option where the likes of Joe Flacco and Nick Foles are expected to be available.
The emergence of Lamar Jackson has seen Flacco fall out of favor in Baltimore with the Ravens while Foles’ playoff and late-season heroics still won’t be enough to unseat Carson Wentz from his perch as starter.
Foles is going to call for a big payday after winning Super Bowl LII MVP honors and guiding the Eagles to the playoffs yet again this year, which might not interest the Giants should they draft Haskins or another quarterback like Missouri’s Drew Lock.
Flacco, though, could use a short-term deal with a team like the Giants to prove that he can still lead a contender under center. That would give the organization time to prepare a young quarterback for the starting role much like what they did with Kurt Warner in 2004 ahead of Manning.
