New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning may have two Super Bowl rings, two Super Bowl MVPs, three Pro Bowls and a whole bunch of other hardware to his name, but he's well aware all the accolades and accomplishments really mean little-to-nothing in an NFL often jokingly referred to as the "Not For Long."
While Manning will enter his 12th training camp with Big Blue as the clear leader of the offense and the team, he's also set to enter the final year of a six-yea, $97.5 million extension he signed in 2010.
Giants GM Jerry Reese and the rest of the New York brass have not approached Manning and his representatives about extending his deal, making his future at the helm of Tom Coughlin's group, questionable.
"No discussions yet," Manning said recently, via Gary Myers of NYDailyNews.com. "I don't know if there will be or not."
Manning, now 34, indicated that he believes the Giants brass are likely waiting to see what he's capable of in 2015 before making another big monetary commitment, but the always unflappable quarterback also seemed unfazed by the lack of movement on his contract.
"Sure. I think you're always proving yourself in this league," Manning said. "It's always kind of what have you done lately and you got to prove that you can still play at a high level."
There's no doubting that Manning is the best signal-caller in Giants history, but more importantly, he also remains an elite passer in the NFL - despite struggling through a down season for the entire Giants organization, Manning, operating in new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's West Coast scheme for the first time, posted career-highs and franchise-records with 601 passing attempts, 379 completions and a 63.1 completion-percentage. Manning and Co. also averaged 367.2 yards per game and totaled 5,875 yards for the season.
With Odell Beckham Jr. bursting onto the scene last year and likely to take another step forward in 2015, Victor Cruz expected back from a patellar injury and Reese having done his best to bolster the running game and Manning's protection via the draft and free agency, there's really no doubting that Manning is far and away the best option for the Giants to have a successful season and, more importantly, seems set to have a pretty good year.
Whether that's the case going forward though, remains to be seen.
"I guess I'm just happy that I'm still playing and still got a job to do," Manning said. "I guess I've always just thought, they gave me a contract for six years, this is the sixth year. I don't have any complaints. I'm going to do my job, no matter what. My focus is on playing good football, winning games, and whatever happens after that happens after that."
