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The Cleveland Browns Are Not Getting Eli Manning

By Zac Wassink

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You can file this one in the “some sports talk radio personalities have too much time on their hands” category.

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At a time of the National Football League year when things are relatively boring outside of injury updates and contract discussions, sports websites and the social media world blew up with hot takes upon hearing that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, about to enter the final regular season of his current deal, wants to be the “highest paid player in the NFL.”

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Manning poured cold water over those reports on Wednesday when he told members of the media that the story was inaccurate, and that he showed uncharacteristic fire and even annoyance at having to mention the matter raised some eyes.

Opinions vary on the younger Manning brother who will be 35-years old next January. The ups of his roller-coaster career are two Super Bowl championships and two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards. His downs have seen him get booed off of the field by home Big Blue fans. Whatever anybody thinks of his talents and what he may or may not have left in the tank, there is no denying that Manning is going to get paid for 2016 and beyond so long as he is healthy and does not have a disastrous campaign this coming fall.

It is not difficult to understand why some would, upon seeing the headlines from earlier this week, link Manning and the Cleveland Browns with a potential transaction that could occur next March. Journeyman Josh McCown is not a long-term answer for the Browns. Second-year pro Johnny Manziel may one day be ready to take over as the starting quarterback for the Browns, but that day is not today nor is it in the foreseeable future as of August 19. Manning would be the best quarterback the Browns have had since the team returned to the NFL in 1999 even before the ink dried on his contract.

The big problem here is that there is right now about a 0.0001% chance that contract is ever signed.

Good quarterbacks do not enter free agency in this NFL era when passing attacks are emphasized and protected by the rules more so than at any other time in the history of pro football. Andy Dalton didn’t get to free agency. Colin Kaepernick didn’t. Ryan Tannehill didn’t. Philip Rivers didn’t. Ben Roethlisberger didn’t. Russell Wilson didn’t.

Eli Manning is not a good quarterback. He is a franchise quarterback, the best QB in the 90+-year history of the Giants, and a man who has proven that he is capable of winning in the New York market. Just how important is that final note? The New York Jets have not had a Gang Green version of Manning since Joe Namath was cashing in on Super Bowl guarantees. That Super Bowl III victory, for the readers who were not yet born at the time, occurred in January 1969.

The states of the NFL and of New York football are not the only reasons Manning and the Giants will continue their relationship past the 2015 season. Manning wanted to be the starting quarterback of the Giants when he entered the NFL in 2004. He has a history of being open to restructuring contracts. Manning also makes millions upon millions of dollars off of endorsement deals. The idea that Manning would hold the Giants up for ransom is foreign to those who have followed his career because it has never before happened.

A lot would have to go horribly wrong for the Giants between now and January 1 for the franchise to consider parting ways with Manning in 2016. Manning would have to experience the worst season of the past decade of his NFL career and/or have a physical setback that takes him off of the field for a significant amount of time. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that second one, as Manning has been the most durable quarterback in the NFL since brother Peyton missed out on the entire 2012 campaign following multiple operations on his neck.

It should be pointed out that most knowledgeable insiders who cover and follow the Giants fully expect Manning and the club to come to an agreement on a deal perhaps as recently as next month. Manning reportedly putting his Hoboken condo on the market is not a sign of anything other than that he and his family are likely moving to a different part of New Jersey. He will retire having only ever played for the Giants if all entities involved have their way in the matter.

So how did conversations involving the Browns possibly having a chance at Manning in 2016 arise? They were sparked by Twitter users who became bored, and by sports talk radio personalities in northeast Ohio who have time, up to five hours in some cases, to kill. There are only so many ways that you can break down how Manziel is performing in practice sessions and preseason games before you begin to question what it is you have chosen to do with your life. A mental image of Manning wearing brown and orange next spring is at least a fresh topic to discuss over the air.

The histories of sports competitions are filled with the stars aligning at the right time for certain teams. Indianapolis, for one example, was able to go from Peyton Manning, a quarterback who already deserves his own wing in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, to the man perceived to be the next great NFL QB in Andrew Luck, and all it cost the Colts was one lousy season. That type of good fortune has not smiled upon the Browns in 50 years. Eli Manning does bring with him the keys that allow the Browns to escape from QB Purgatory.

He has already found his own heaven, though, and he has no reason to leave that paradise to save the Browns.

Next: Should Browns Unleash Johnny Manziel?

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