While a recent report suggested that the New York Giants and long-time franchise quarterback Eli Manning were on the verge of coming to terms on a new contract extension that would ensure Manning remains the starting signal-caller for the Giants for the foreseeable future, a new report suggests that a Manning extension may not be all that certain. Manning and the Giants have not had "substantive" or "meaningful" talks with the Giants in "some time," according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com.
This, of course, seems to fly directly in the face of a report from earlier this week that suggested that the Giants and Eli were eyeing a deal before the team convened for training camp this month. Manning, discussing his expiring deal earlier this offseason, sounded unconcerned at the time with the lack of movement.
"Sure. I think you're always proving yourself in this league," Manning said at the time. "It's always kind of what have you done lately and you got to prove that you can still play at a high level."
Manning, performing last season under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo for the first time, managed career-highs in a number of statistical categories, including passing attempts (601), completions (379) and completion percentage (63.1). Those were all Giants franchise records as well.
The 34-year-old Manning is entering the final year of a seven-year extension he signed in August 2009. He has been the face of the Giants franchise since the team traded for him at the outset of the 2004 NFL Draft. During that time he's led the team to the postseason five times, including two Super Bowl victories.
It's not surprising the team would want to keep him around, especially in an NFL where franchise quarterbacking options are so few and far between. There was talk pre-draft that Giants GM Jerry Reese may have been enamored with former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, but nothing, of course, came of it.
While Getlin's report seems to throw a little cold water on the notion of Manning re-upping in New York, Getlin's NFL.com cohort, Steve Wyche, added a late Friday report of his own, suggesting that a deal would indeed get done between the Giants and their two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, it may just not be anytime soon.
