Eli Manning is calling it a career. On Wednesday, the Giants announce the star quarterback has retired from the NFL and a news conference will be held on Friday. He has been with the Giants since 2004 after being traded to the team from the San Diego Chargers.
Manning, who would have been a free agent in March, lost his starting position to Daniel Jones this past season. He has said he had no interest in being a backup quarterback next season, so it looked like he was going to sign with a new team. However, the news of this is not a big surprise considering it was reported he would likely retire once the season came to an end.
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“It’s Daniel Jones’ ball now, and there’s no way Manning would want to return to stand on the sidelines and watch his successor,” Ralph Vacchiano of SNY wrote at the time. The Giants probably don’t want that either. Most likely, the Giants icon is going to retire. If not, he’ll have to find a new home.”
Manning played in the team’s first two games of the year before being replaced by Jones. Once he heard the news he wasn’t going to be the starter, Manning took it all in stride.
“Again, I’m not dying, and the season’s not over,” he said back in September. “There’s a lot to be positive about. A lot to be grateful for. So, I’ve just got to accept my new role and make the best out of it.”
Manning went on to say he’s not surprised by the move considering they drafted Jones in the first round back in April and how the team got off to a slow start. He was then asked if he would have played if Jones was the starter when the season kicked off.
“Yeah. I think you give it a shot and worked hard and competed. Did everything I thought I could and it just didn’t work out,” he said. “…I didn’t know how everything was going to shake out this year… You draft a young QB, yeah it’s a possibility they’ll play him when things don’t go well. We didn’t start fast and that’s the situation we’re in now.”
Manning has put together a strong career. In his 16 seasons in the league, he was named to the Pro Bowl four times, he led the team to Super Bowl wins in 2007 and 2011 and he was named Super Bowl MVP twice.
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