New York Giants Will Address Manning Situation “When The Time Is Right”

giants, eli manning, odell beckham jr.
Nov 12, 2018; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) and wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) react in the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For New York Giants fans who think the team should stick with Eli Manning for the next year or two, there’s some good news. It seems like General Manager Dave Gettleman agrees, and has continued to show this both through actions so far and through verbal affirmations.

In this case, Gettleman spoke to the NFL Network on Wednesday and came out in support of Manning and muddied the waters even more for those trying to predict whether or not the team is taking Manning’s successor with the number six overall pick in the draft.

“Eli can still make all the NFL throws. He can still play. Last time I checked, if you’re quarterback’s upright, it gives you a chance. We’ve rebuilt, built up, or whatever phrase you want to use, the O-line. We got another important piece with the Kevin Zeitler trade,” said Gettleman.

The Giants may have “rebuilt” or “built up” the offensive line with the Zeitler trade, but the same can’t be said for the rest of the roster. They haven’t exactly gotten better by trading away one of their absolute best offensive players and not finding a replacement of the same caliber. Even if the team took a step forward with the Kevin Zeitler trade, they promptly took a step back by moving Odell Beckham Jr., and the secondary has gotten worse with the departure of Landon Collins.

While no team wants to come out and say that they don’t have a chance to win, it would be a lot more transparent if the Giants just came out and said right now that this was a rebuilding season. It would, after all, lower expectations a bit.

But aside from that, Gettleman also talked about when the team intends to do something to find Manning’s successor. And the answer isn’t this year or the next year, but is vague.

“Obviously he’s 38 years old. Like Pat says, he’s closer to 40 than he is 20. … The bottom line is, yes, we have to address it. It’s reality. So when the time’s right, we will,” Gettleman said.

Which time is the right one? No one but the upper echelons of the Giants organization know that. It could be this year with the sixth or the 17th pick in the first round, it could be next year’s draft or free agency. But whenever it is, Gettleman can’t afford to get this wrong. Not after making the moves that have helped put the Giants close to dead last in many power rankings.