New York Giants: Trade Eli Manning to the Jacksonville Jaguars?

The New York Giants trading Eli Manning to the Jacksonville Jaguars seems like an easy fix, but it’s not as simple as some may believe.

As far back as during the 2017 NFL regular season, even before New York Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning was benched in favor of Geno Smith for a single game, some suggested that the franchise needed to take steps toward the future and trade the two-time Super Bowl MVP to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That’s again the case this fall, as Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com and others have pointed out, with ESPN television and WFAN radio personalities mentioning the possibility of the transaction.

On paper and in editions of Madden, the trade makes sense. Manning, 37 years old and on the cusp of yet another losing season with a Giants team going in the wrong direction, gets to realign with former coach and current Jaguars Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin.

The Jaguars would find a proven commodity and championship quarterback to start instead of Blake Bortles. Everyone wins, right?

Maybe. Like so many things in life, this is not a black-and-white matter. For starters, Manning’s contract includes a full no-trade clause, per Spotrac. If Manning is serious about wanting to retire a one-club man and/or does not wish to leave his family in New Jersey as he attempts to win a third ring with the Jaguars, the discussion is over before it begins. Done and dusted.

Neither of those factors may be deal-breakers at this point. The Giants are a mess, both on the field and, apparently, off it, and the 1-5 team has little chance of saving the campaign, let alone competing for a playoff berth.

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Jacksonville, meanwhile, has a championship-caliber defense. Yes, Manning would need some time to adjust, but the AFC South is filled with 3-3 teams and the Indianapolis Colts. Manning winning five starts, whenever he would arrive, could be enough for the Jags to earn a postseason berth.

It’s also worth noting Manning is not long for the NFL, whether he realizes it or not. He could retire as soon as next February, or he and the Jaguars could agree he deserves one full season as CEO of the offense before he calls time on his career. Either way, Manning flying south ahead of the upcoming winter isn’t a permanent move unless he wants it to be.

The Giants accepting Bortles in return for Manning is an inevitable part of the arrangement for multiple reasons. Financially speaking, that’s not a problem regardless of how he’d play wearing a Big Blue jersey. As reporter Albert Breer explained last February, Bortles’ contract really only runs through 2020 if his employer, whichever team it is, wants to keep him. Heck, the Giants could part ways with the 26-year old before next March and be just fine.

Bortles would receive chances to play for the Giants this fall, as he’d be the best quarterback on the roster immediately after the trade. That, admittedly, says a lot about New York’s depth chart in the middle of October, but it is what it is. Maybe head coach Pat Shurmur would view Bortles as a project worth saving. At least Bortles is more mobile than Manning, and also used to seeing plenty of quarterback pressures this season.

One significant negative about the Giants having Bortles in the quarterback room and on the field comes to mind: Things can, in fact, get worse for the 2018 version of the team. Some out there believe superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a problem now. Wait until Bortles, hardly the most consistent thrower of the football in the league, routinely misses Beckham during games.

There’s something to be said for a young talent, particularly a QB drafted with a first-round pick who hasn’t yet played five full seasons, receiving a fresh start. How much faith should the Giants have in Shurmur’s ability to help Bortles become a legitimate starter for longer than half a season, at most?

What if Bortles is just good enough that he prevents the Giants from “earning” a top pick eventually used on a highly-rated college quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft, but still bad enough that Shurmur and company decide he isn’t the answer past the end of December?

There are real risks and real rewards attached to this fantasy trade for both teams, not to mention a plethora of reasons why such in-season transactions rarely occur. It’s something the Giants should consider, if only because there isn’t much else for the team to do minus staying the course and unofficially announcing that the team is punting on 2018.