Two Possible Destinations For Eli Manning

The New York Giants have a new head coach in Pat Shurmur, and he has a lot of work to do with this team. The Giants limped to a 3-13 season while battling a plethora of injuries to their stars, such as receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, as well as a plethora of drama and controversy. The team benched Eli for a game during the season before they fired head coach Ben McAdoo, and then restated Manning’s starter status. It’s not so much the fact that he was benched, rather than the way the team handled it that makes it seem likely that New York will sever ties with their longtime franchise QB.

It also works out for them financially, as it would save the team either $9.8M or $16M, depending on if the Giants make Eli a post-June 1st release.

Here are two destinations for the 37-year old two-time Super Bowl winning signal caller:

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars are a logical and obvious destination. Blake Bortles just isn’t the man for the job in Jacksonville, and with the team able to cut him without incurring any dead money, it’s possible they pull the trigger. If so, Manning’s ties with team executive Vice President of football Tom Coughlin could lure him to the Jags. The front office could then draft a QB in one of the later rounds, instead of using a first rounder on someone who would sit for at least two years.

The Jaguars had one of the NFL’s elite defenses in 2017, lead by monster pass rushers Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, who combined for 26.5 sacks. In addition, Malik Jackson added eight sacks of his own. The defense also picked off 21 passes, with shutdown corners AJ Bouye and Jalen Ramsey leading the charge with a combined 10 interceptions.

With a stout defense and improved offensive line, Manning could find success in Jacksonville.

Washington Redskins

This one doesn’t seem to make much sense, but hear me out before you grab your pitchforks and tell me how much I don’t know about football.

The Redskins will likely lose QB Kirk Cousins this offseason. The Redskins have been caught in a mediocre limbo since he took over, despite winning the NFC East in 2015. With Cousins likely on the move, Washington will look to the draft for a quarterback of the future. They then could do one of two things:

1) Throw him to the wolves right away

2) Sign a veteran quarterback to help mentor him for a year.

On paper, this team doesn’t look to contend next season, and the last time they drafted who they thought was the QB of their future, they ended up shredding his knee. I believe the Redskins brass will look to sign Manning in an attempt to have him assist in developing their next quarterback.

There isn’t a whole lot Manning can look at on this team and get excited about. Washington did see guard Brandon Schreff be named a Pro Bowler, but he was replaced by Detroit Lions guard TJ Lang due to injury. Washington also has corner Josh Norman, who is one of the best corners in the league, despite battling injuries in 2017.

There are other destinations for Manning, however, I chose to narrow it down to two. If I was a betting man, I’d bet what little I have on Manning signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the event of a release. It’s the perfect situation for him, as Jacksonville is a team in win-now mode, and is looking for that one battle-tested piece to put them over the top. It’s a win-win for both sides.

Featured Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun/AP

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