McDonald: The Giants Need To Trade Eli Manning If They Are Serious About Selling

BOSTON – Your attention please. That large mushroom cloud you are seeing over East Rutherford is general manager Dave Gettleman blowing up your New York Football Giants.

Eli Apple is in the eye of New Orleans and Snacks Harrison was fed to the Lions.

John Mara must have called in the Duke Brothers and Clarence Beeks, because those machines are on and “Sell! Sell!”

And now that the Giants are down to one Eli, they really need to make a concerted effort to make themselves Eli-free by next Tuesday’s trading deadline. The Giants need to move Eli Manning if there is a trade to work out.

Sure, I understand the sentimental value Manning brings to the team and he has been the ultimate professional on and off the field, but it’s time to move on. With a fire sale not fully underway, there is no way the Giants should have Manning on the roster after next Tuesday.

In fact, they shouldn’t even start him this week, just in case for the first time in his career Manning will miss time due to an injury.

And keeping Manning is very uncharacteristic of the franchise, who have – at least in recent times – cut bait early on their quarterbacks, rather than hold on too long.

Back in 1994, after a bounce-back season, where his Giants made the playoffs, Phil Simms became a salary cap casualty, when he was cut in June of that off0season. Simms probably would have played well in ’95 and even ’96, but the Giants made that decision to go young and lacked at that position for five years. Until…

Kerry Collins was brought in off the scrapheap and led the Giants to the NFC Championship a few years later. He was very productive, but a down year in 2003 became his undoing and the opportunity to draft their next franchise QB was just too much to overlook.

And of course, that pick became Manning. Two Super Bowls later and for some reason, the Giants arer treating their aging quarterback like a work of art. However, as we have seen over the past two seasons, the guy who is wearing the No. 10 jersey may look and act like Eli Manning, but he is certainly not the same guy who gave the Patriots fits in two Super Bowls. That guy doesn’t exist anymore and the Giants owe it to their fan base to see if a guy like Kyle Lauretta is the answer or do they have to draft one this year.

Unless Tom Coughlin down in Jacksonville does not want his old QB as a Jag, there is no reason why the Giants shouldn’t move Eli this week. Jacksonville is having some quarterback issues and Blake Bortles has been benched. The team that looked so tough last year is in turmoil and maybe a change of scenery is the answer for No. 10.

If you asked me 8 years ago is Eli was going to be a lifelong Giants, I would have said, “Sure.” But times have changed and many quarterbacks have moved onto other teams at the end of their careers. Joe Montana went to the Chiefs and Joe Namath played for the Rams. Even Eli’s big brother played for the Broncos and won a Super Bowl with them after leaving Indianapolis.

Eli can be a Jaguar or any other team who is willing to trade for him.

The Giant selloff is on. It’s time to make it a complete rebuild and trade Eli Manning.

“Sell! Sell!”

About the Author

Joe McDonald

Editor-in-Chief
Joe McDonald is the founder and former publisher of NY Sports Day. After selling to i15Media in 2020, he serves as the Editor-in-Chief and responsible for the editorial side of the publication. In the past, Joe was the managing editor of NY Sportscene magazine and assistant editor of Mets Inside Pitch. He has covered the Mets since 2004.

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