New York Giants: Ryan Nassib Won’t Replace Eli Manning
By Zac Wassink
The New York Giants won’t have Eli Manning forever, but nobody should expect that Ryan Nassib will ever serve as the heir apparent.
Nobody should take New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning for granted anymore.
The truth of the matter is that Manning is the greatest QB the Giants have ever had, and he will one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Those who fail to realize these realities will probably not be convinced otherwise, and they will also continue to be wrong regarding Manning’s legacy and his place in National Football League history.
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With that said, Manning is not a timeless entity. Manning is, in fact, in the twilight of his physical prime. The 35-year-old who has been the starting QB of the Giants since he took over for Kurt Warner during the 2004 NFL season only has so many snaps and so many games left in the tank. Odds are that Manning will not be the starting QB of the Giants come the end of the decade.
Those who constantly find themselves looking far into the future have, thus, begun wondering who will replace Manning when the time comes for the two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player to ride off into the sunset. The Giants did not, as I suggested that the team should consider doing, draft a replacement for Manning earlier this spring. In fact, the Giants did not draft a QB at all.
So what’s the plan?
The plan, as of May 23, is that there is no plan. New York will enter summer training camp sessions with Ryan Nassib cemented as the backup to Manning. Nassib was selected by the Giants in the 2013 NFL Draft, and he has served as Manning’s backup ever since signing his rookie deal. That contract comes to an end following the 2016 season, meaning that Nassib and the Giants will have some decisions to make between now and next winter.
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While those of us who cannot see into the future cannot say, for sure, what will be for the Giants and Nassib past 2016, all indications are that this is a relationship that is headed toward a breakup. Nassib has, during his stint with the Giants, never looked like a true heir to the throne. As harsh as it may be to say, Nassib has merely been a backup since 2013.
New New York head coach Ben McAdoo may want Nassib to earn his backup role through the end of the year. The Giants recently signed career backup QB B.J. Daniels, and ESPN reporter Field Yates reported last week that the Giants also attempted to claim former Tennessee Titans QB Zach Mettenberger.
The Giants carrying more than two quarterbackss on the roster at this stage of the year is hardly newsworthy. Doing so is smart business, as it allows the Giants to be prepared in case Nassib goes down to injury or disaster strikes and Manning is sidelined for a significant amount of time. Ebenezer Samuel and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News have, however, suggested that recent moves made by the Giants may be about more than the club having depth at the QB position.
"So had the Giants claimed Mettenberger, a competition between the third-year vet and Nassib could have paved the way for a preseason trade. Mettenberger, 24, has appeared in 14 games during his NFL career, and while he’s hardly been stellar, he offers a prototypical pocket-passer frame (6-5, 224 pounds) and a strong arm. Had he proven to be a competent backup, the Giants may have been able to shop Nassib in a market that’s desperate for potential starting QBs."
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the Giants would consider trading Nassib between now and the start of September. This would be telling of two things: That the Giants believe there is some team out there willing to take a flier on Nassib, and also that McAdoo and company do not view Nassib as an asset past the expiration of his contract.
It is also worth noting that Nassib should want to move on from the Giants after 2016 if not sooner. There is at least one NFL team out there that is going to need a starting QB at some point this year that is not currently on its roster. Heck, the Cleveland Browns go through multiple quarterbacks on a yearly basis, and the Browns are currently banking on Robert Griffin III resurrecting his career and also staying healthy for four straight months.
Good luck with all of that.
Nassib’s situation with the Giants is, of course, fluid and one that could change at a moment’s notice. Remember that Eli’s older brother Peyton Manning was, during the prime of his career, a reliable starter who never got hurt and who was always on the field on Sundays. The news that Manning had a serious neck injury that would cost him a full season and, ultimately, mean the end of his playing days with the Indianapolis Colts seemingly came out of nowhere.
Eli experiencing a similar setback could open the door for Nassib.
The younger Manning brother has done well to avoid taking beatings over the years, he has kept himself in solid physical shape, and he has thrived while playing in McAdoo’s offensive system. There is, knock on wood, no reason to believe that Manning ‘s production will suffer in 2016.
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Nassib has been a perfect backup for Manning in that he has remained healthy, learned the New York offense and not been any kind of headache off of the field. It has, however, been made clear that Nassib will not be receiving the keys to the Big Blue offense so long as Manning is available and playing well.
Therefore, 2016 may very well be the end of Nassib’s time with the Giants, and that may be best for all involved as the Giants brace for a future that will eventually not include Manning.