Eli Manning was one of the NFL’s worst passers last season and some in the Giants organization have concerns about how much he truly has left.
Manning tossed at least three picks in a game on five different occasions, and was so bad that Pro Football Focus had him ranked 40th out of 42 quarterbacks in the league, ahead of Geno Smith and Chad Henne.
Manning has two years left on the six-year, $97.5 million contract he signed in 2009, and will count $20.4 million against the salary cap in 2014. Those staggering numbers according to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, are the reasons Giants brass is reportedly concerned that he “may never return to the form that resulted in two Super Bowl titles.”
“There are those who wonder whether Manning is a player in decline at age 33,” Graziano wrote Friday. “This is a question that has not gone unasked within the ranks of the Giants’ front office.
It is part of the reason the Giants decided not to try this offseason to extend Manning’s contract, which runs through 2015, even though doing so would have offered them significant salary cap relief.
They would like to see him pull out of his downward trend before they commit to his late 30s. Their hope is that he has a big year and that extending him next offseason makes sense.”
I wrote a post after the Giants fell to 0-5, on a report via the New York Post that had some in the inner circle of the franchise wondering if the Giants should package Eli and a first round pick for the opportunity to draft his successor or the dominant defender of their choice.
Most of the response indicated that the Giants don’t do business that way and Eli has ring protection preventing such a move. After a 27 interception season where Manning looked like a rookie at time, the Giants will definitely have to get playmakers and offensive line help to ensure Manning returns to greatness.