New York Giants: Regret over not keeping Davis Webb

The New York Giants could use Davis Webb to play ahead of Eli Manning this season, but more to get through 2018 than to win anything of note.

The New York Giants are embracing the tank. Of course, nobody within the organization will openly admit that, but you don’t need to be an insider to see the writing on the wall. The Giants are 1-6 and going nowhere. Cornerback and former first-round pick Eli Apple was shipped to the New Orleans Saints following the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night.

More transactions will come before the trade deadline if the Giants can find buyers for castoffs. In short, this will be ugly for passionate fans of what was supposed to be a win-now side as of August 2017.

Whether or not the Giants can trade quarterback Eli Manning to the Jacksonville Jaguars this month is irrelevant, as are opinions regarding who, between the 37-year old two-time Super Bowl MVP and a putrid offensive line, should be blamed for the offense’s woes. Manning isn’t part of the solution. Playing him for another down behind a sieve-like line is a waste of everybody’s time.

Throwing fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta to the wolves before he’s ready is a different kind of pointless exercise, as is starting journeyman Alex Tanney. That either are better options than Manning immediately says plenty about the state of the franchise this fall, which leads to the latest quarterback regret.

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This regime and coaching staff didn’t spend a third-round pick on Davis Webb, surprisingly cut by the Giants in September. There are good reasons why Webb didn’t catch on with a different team as a backup before the New York Jets awarded him with a spot on the practice squad. With that said, dumping Webb for nothing is now a colossal mistake if only because the Giants have to put somebody under center for the final nine games of this awful campaign.

Webb would probably play worse than Manning, if that’s possible, outside of garbage time when Eli accumulates some solid fantasy football stats. In that scenario, the 23-year old could have been a bridge option for even a week until the bye would have given head coach Pat Shurmur and his staff time to get Lauletta ready to face a bad San Francisco 49ers opponent on Nov. 12.

Lauletta is a project for the future at absolute best. It’s more likely he won’t be on the roster come 2020 than he’ll ever win a playoff game for the Giants. Rushing him onto the field ahead of schedule so he can try to make chicken salad out of you-know-what playing in a lineup phoning-in outings this holiday season is counterproductive. Losing is one thing. Risking the health of a 22-year old quarterback is quite another.

Holding onto Webb would have kept more options open for the Giants beyond October. So what if the second-year pro would have gone winless in November? This team is headed in that direction with Manning missing open targets in the red zone. For all anybody knows, younger individuals on offense (allegedly) doubting Manning’s skills may have rallied around Webb pro for a handful of games.

Yes, it’s all-but guaranteed Webb would have been more sacrificial lamb than franchise savior. That’s OK. The Buffalo Bills didn’t sign Derek Anderson to lead them to the playoffs this fall. C.J. Beathard isn’t expected to win in place of the injured Jimmy Garoppolo. Between Webb, Tanney and Lauletta, it’s the former Giant who is the best of lousy choices.

Shurmur and the front office already decided on Webb. It’s seems a long-shot they’d change their minds and bring him back even for mop-up duty. As poorly as Webb performed the last time anybody saw him in a Big Blue jersey, just knowing he was being handed the keys to the offense for four quarters in either November or December would give fans something to anticipate.

Everybody associated with the Giants, from ownership to the front office to coaches, failed since Shurmur was announced head coach. Why should a single customer believe Lauletta will be any better than Webb?