Giants name Daniel Jones starter, bench Eli Manning
Joe PantornoPosted on
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The New York Giants announced on Tuesday morning that rookie quarterback Daniel Jones will be the team’s starter in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Head coach Pat Shurmur’s decision forces veteran quarterback Eli Manning to the bench, effectively ending his 16-year run as the franchise’s starting quarterback.
“Eli and I spoke this morning,” Shurmur told the team’s official website. “I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he wil lbe ready to play on Sunday.”
It remains to be seen if the move will elicit a trade request from Manning, but he has a no-trade clause and his family that includes four children under the age of eight resides in New Jersey.
The decision to make Jones the starter is a move similar to the way Manning rose to power in New York.
After the Giants acquired Manning at the 2004 NFL Draft, the team went with veteran Kurt Warner for the first nine weeks of that season before the Ole Miss product took over.
Since then, he became one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history, passing for 56,537 yards with 362 touchdowns — both franchise records — while winning a pair of Super Bowl championships and MVP’s.
At 38 years old, however, the question of Manning’s football mortality has become a major topic of concern over the past few years.
Since winning Super Bowl XLVI, Manning went 38-59 as a starter with a 62.9-percent completion rating with 151 touchdowns and 97 interceptions. The last two seasons have been particularly rough for the aging slinger as he went 8-23 with an offense that lacked consistency and a stable offensive line — forcing the immobile quarterback to try and extend the play with his legs.
Manning’s struggles prompted general manager Dave Gettleman to draft Jones out of Duke with the sixth-overall pick of the 2019 draft. While the pick was met with bewilderment, the 22-year-old put on an impressive display during the preseason, completing 29-of-34 passes (85.3-percent) for 416 yards and two touchdown while putting pressure on Manning for the starting job.
Now, another rough start in 2019 has forced Shurmur’s hands.
The Giants are 0-2 for the sixth time in seven seasons largely because of an offensive attack that has lacked any sort of threat.
Manning’s inability to get the aerial game going — despite having his top-three receivers unavailable — made opposing defense’s game plans much easier: Load the box, key in on Saquon Barkley, and watch the Giants offense go down in flames.
The Buffalo Bills executed the plan perfectly in Week 2 as Manning toiled. He completed just 57.5-percent of his passes for 250 yards and a pair of interceptions in a 28-14 loss.
Now with Jones at the helm, the Giants will get a first look at what their prospective franchise quarterback can bring to the table.
With a big arm and enough athleticism to extend the play with his legs, Jones’ first opponent will be a Buccaneers team that has allowed just a single passing touchdown through two games and the third-lowest completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks in the NFL this year.
