New York Giants: Eli Manning Denies Competition With Daniel Jones

May 20, 2019; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones (8) watches Eli Manning (10) during organized team activities at Quest Diagnostic Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants are always a team with plenty of debates and narratives around them, but right now, one of the main ones is the debate about quarterback Daniel Jones and playing time. Eli Manning has been confirmed directly as the starter this season, but that hasn’t stopped the idea that the Giants might make a switch mid season if Eli Manning’s performances aren’t up to par, which they may very well not be based on the drastic changes this year to the offense as well as Manning’s own age.

However, once again, the statements from players and coaches themselves don’t quite add up with the media narrative that Daniel Jones is going to come in later this season and take over for Manning.

According to Manning himself, it’s not a competition between him and Jones right now. “I don’t feel like it’s a competition. I feel like I’ve got to do my job and I’ve got to compete every day and try to get better every day. That’s the way it’s been my whole life, and that’s just the way I’ve always approached practice every day to improve, to earn my place on the team, to earn the respect of the teammates and to do it each year,” Manning said to NFL Network.

Manning also claims that things will continue as usual, with him aiding Jones in learning the team’s offense.

“We’ve got new guys and I’m trying to build a relationship with them and get them up to speed and so I’m just trying to do my job in the quarterback room. I’ve always been good with young quarterbacks, whoever’s been in there, trying to get them up to speed, teaching them about defenses or styles or what our defense plays,” added Manning, also stating that his goal is to help everybody on the team succeed.

From the looks of things the Giants intend to plan long term when it comes to the situation with Jones and Manning, but as last season showed, pressure tends to fall on the starting quarterback if the performances aren’t great after midseason. It’s possible there will be demands from the fans and press for Jones to start, but conceding to these demands might not go well for the Giants – Kyle Lauletta’s terrible regular season performance last season shows the dangers of rushing a rookie quarterback into regular season game time.

One can only hope that things go well for the Giants this season and they aren’t forced into a position where they have to reconsider their current stance of there being no competition at quarterback.