Eli Manning says there’s no QB competition in NY
By Bryan Perez
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is convinced there isn’t a quarterback competition in New York this season.
Someone, please tell New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning that teams don’t invest top-10 picks on players to sit the bench. Especially not when that investment is a quarterback.
Whether Manning likes it or not, first-round pick Daniel Jones wasn’t selected by general manager Dave Gettleman to redshirt in 2019 regardless of what the talking points coming out of East Rutherford, New Jersey have been.
Regardless, Manning isn’t viewing Jones’ presence (nor his impressive offseason) as the start of a quarterback competition.
“I mean no, I don’t feel like it’s a competition,” Manning said Friday from the Manning Passing Academy. “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 do it each year.”
Manning has been and continues to be the perfect soldier for New York. He knows what to say and how to say it, even at a time in his career when many veteran starters become defensive and grouchy. He’s a pro’s pro.
But this feels a bit dishonest. There’s no way Manning actually believes, in his core, that Jones doesn’t pose a threat to his starting job. And if he poses a threat, of any kind, then yes, there’s a quarterback competition.
It may not be a traditional quarterback competition. Maybe it isn’t one that unfolds during training camp or the preseason. But every bad throw by Manning will be met by a mob of angry Giants fans calling for the rookie to replace him. It’s what happens in situations like this. Every time.
The only way for Manning to avoid the inevitable benching to make way for Jones is to have a career year and win a lot of games. In a sense, he’ll be competing against himself. And sometimes, that’s the toughest competition of them all.