New York Giants are Eli Manning’s best option for 2018

The New York Giants and Eli Manning may need to realize that staying together through the conclusion of the 2018 season is what’s best for both.

A strange thing is happening around the NFL this month. The much-maligned Blake Bortles played well, to the point he was nearly shockingly good, throughout Sunday’s divisional game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Jaguars are now a win over the New England Patriots away from playing in the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Case Keenum is a local hero and legend following Sunday’s miraculous walk-off win over the New Orleans Saints that sent the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game.

Regardless of how well or how poorly he performs in Foxborough, Bortles has earned the right to remain Jacksonville’s starting quarterback for at least one more season so long as he’s healthy. The Vikings have Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater on the depth chart heading into the conference title game, and one of them will (probably) be under center for Minnesota next September.

What’s any of this have to do with New York Giants starter Eli Manning? Plenty. In short, Manning is running out of realistic options outside of the Meadowlands if he wants to continue playing following his 37th birthday that came earlier this month. The Giants could cut Manning as soon as the new NFL year opens in March, but getting nothing for a two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback who showed in 2017 he can still sling the rock is unacceptable. Manning’s contract carries a no-trade clause, meaning he has to sign off on a transaction before the Giants get anything of note in a deal.

Jacksonville seemed a perfect fit for Manning. The team has a championship-caliber defense, a solid rushing attack and former New York head coach Tom Coughlin serving as the franchise vice president of football operations. Nobody could have guessed, as of Thanksgiving morning, Bortles would play like the QB the Jaguars hoped he would be when the team drafted him back in 2014 over the past month and a half.

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With Jacksonville out of the equation, potential landing spots for Manning are, at best, stretches. There’s no indication older brother Peyton Manning is going to accept a role with the Cleveland Browns, and Eli has zero reason to want to take part in that lengthy rebuilding project or play under head coach Hue Jackson, who has a record of 1-31 with the Browns but has somehow managed to keep his job because that organization is a never-ending dumpster fire.

The Denver Broncos are a mess, as Vance Joseph will be coaching for his job right out of the gates later this year. It’s believed that Miami Dolphins signal-caller Ryan Tannehill will be fully recovered from last August’s season-ending knee surgery by spring. Would Manning really want to play November and December home games in Buffalo and for a Bills coaching staff that showed in 2017 it will quickly throw a quarterback under the figurative bus? The Arizona Cardinals are starting over with a new coach and new signal-caller. Jimmy Garoppolo looked like the real deal during his short stint with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Washington Redskins and New York Jets possibly having interest in Manning is reason enough for the Giants to not cut him in March. Ownership cannot allow a franchise icon who will have his number retired by the club sooner rather than later to sign for a division rival or for the green New York team that shares MetLife Stadium. Manning winning even a single postseason contest with the Jets would be a black cloud that hovered for the Giants for decades.

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Yes, the Giants are going to take a quarterback with a valuable pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. New York can afford to keep Manning and that unnamed rookie on the payroll next season, and Manning has proven he’s willing to mentor a first-year pro as he did with Davis Webb. It also shouldn’t be forgotten the current New York offense is built to win and win now with Manning guiding it, for better or for worse.

It’s understandable Manning may carry resentment after ownership failed to prevent Ben McAdoo from benching him in favor of Geno Smith, a move that effectively ended McAdoo’s relationship with the Giants. Manning should get over it, if he isn’t already, as he may need the Giants as much as the Giants need him for the foreseeable future.