The New York Giants are only one game away from wrapping up their season, and it looks like news isn’t great for backup quarterback Kyle Lauletta going into that game. The news, of course, is that Eli Manning has been announced as the starter already, and will complete the season having started every game.
It’s something that just about everyone could see coming after Lauletta wasn’t given another shot in the weeks following his sole appearance of the season, against Washington, but it’s still worth noting. The team is out of the playoffs at this point and one would think that this is a good time to evaluate the rookie second string quarterback going into next year, but that just isn’t going to happen.
To be fair, it’s hard to blame the Giants staff for the decision. Losing to the Cowboys would be a demoralizing way to end the season, and the Giants organization at this point has shown that they still want to fight to win as many games as possible. It’s unknown at the moment whether or not Lauletta will be active for the game and get a chance at getting any playing time off the bench, after sitting out the Colts game and being listed as inactive.
It’s also hard to think that the Giants would give up on a recently drafted rookie after only five total pass attempts, but it looks like that’s what’s happening. After all, Lauletta hasn’t even been given a chance in the last weeks to potentially come in off the bench, if the Giants happened to have a major lead late in the game.
On the subject of Eli Manning, though, this could be his last full season as a starter, depending on what the Giants do during the NFL Draft and what his performances are like next year. That’s something to pay attention to going into the Dallas game, and if you need a reason to watch other than this being the final Giants game of the season, that’s a good one.
Manning threw for 309 yards and a touchdown against the Colts, and whether or not the Giants draft a quarterback that will compete with him next year, he’ll get to spend this last game of the season as the uncontested starter. Time, and a long offseason, will tell how that lasts in the long run.