New York Giants: Could Jameis Winston replace Eli Manning?

The New York Giants will likely move on from Eli Manning after the 2018 season. Jameis Winston could be an inexpensive and realistic option.

The New York Giants won’t see quarterback Jameis Winston in the starting lineup for this Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Ryan Fitzpatrick remains atop the Bucs’ depth chart heading into the third full weekend of November.

Unless Fitzmagic sizzles out in East Rutherford, something New York Jets fans could never imagine occurring, Winston will be a spectator as the Giants compete for a third victory of the campaign and a second consecutive win.

Winston’s on- and off-the-field issues have been well-documented. He faced multiple accusations, including sexual assault, in college. The NFL banned him for the first three games of the 2018 season because of an incident involving an Uber driver in November 2017. Since returning to the field in late September, Winston has matched six touchdowns with 10 interceptions before being shown a seat on the bench in favor of Fitzpatrick.

Per Spotrac, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and others within the football community, the Bucs have 20.9 million reasons to keep Winston safe and healthy as a backup up through the conclusion of the season. That is the amount of money attached to his fifth-year option that kicks in next year, and Winston suffering any kind of injury could guarantee him that cash. The Bucs have choices from which to select as long as he doesn’t get hurt.

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Those quick to compare this situation to when the Washington Redskins unofficially announced the club had moved on from Robert Griffin III in 2015 should remember Washington had Kirk Cousins on the roster back then.

Fitzpatrick turns 36 years old before the end of the month, and he’s no long-term solution at the position for any team. Winston, the first overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, remains on a relatively low-risk contract if Tampa wants to take one more swing with him next summer.

On Nov. 18, Winston will have a front-row seat to watch Eli Manning in what could, realistically, be his last home start as the face of the Giants. Even after Monday’s victory over the San Francisco 49ers, it seems likely head coach Pat Shurmur will turn to rookie Kyle Lauletta for a few games, especially if/when the Giants lose an eighth or ninth game. At best, Manning’s future with the Giants is uncertain. Odds are that future doesn’t exist at all.

The road to linking the Giants with landing Winston next March is more unblocked than one may imagine. Ideally, the Bucs would like to get something in return for the quarterback’s services. That’s easier said than done.

Why would any franchise, let alone the Giants, give up anything of real value for a signal-caller discarded by a different organization? It’s not as if Winston will be the only available quarterback in free agency.

For starters, Teddy Bridgewater, who worked with Shurmur when the two were with the Minnesota Vikings and who showed last summer he is healthy coming off the serious knee injury that threatened his career, should leave the New Orleans Saints unless Drew Brees surprisingly retires. Nick Foles, who also has a history with Shurmur, could intrigue those running the Giants.

Why Winston over any of those individuals? He’s the youngest, a project who turns only 25 years old in January. If he’s cut, he’ll be a free agent at a time when not a plethora of teams need to splash cash on a potential franchise quarterback.

The Cleveland Browns and Jets are both happy with their rookie signal-callers. It’s illogical the Oakland Raiders would essentially exchange Derek Carr for Winston. The Jacksonville Jaguars moving on from Blake Bortles to sign Winston is tricky because of Bortles’ contract, as explained by ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. In short, he’s limited as it pertains to negotiating a deal.

Ahead of the 2018 NFC Championship game, ESPN Staff Writer Courtney Cronin wrote how Shurmur helped Foles and Case Keenum evolve from journeyman quarterbacks to championship-caliber starters, one of whom went on to win Super Bowl MVP honors. Winston possesses better physical tools than either. He’ll be coachable if he realizes that his career is on the line even though he’s years away from his 30th birthday.

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The Giants could follow in the footsteps of the Arizona Cardinals from this past March, when the Cards signed Sam Bradford and still drafted Josh Rosen. In New York, Winston would find a partner willing to pay him between $10-15 million in guaranteed money and give him a chance to salvage his NFL future. Meanwhile, the Giants wouldn’t be handcuffed by a two-year contract that would cost little to move on from in 2020 if things didn’t work out.

The width of a football field will separate the Giants and Winston on Sunday. Perhaps the QB and Shurmur could meet up for a chat before or after the game.

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