Business Insider Edition
Eli Manning has been the centerpiece of the Giants' offense since the team acquired his draft rights from the San Diego Chargers in 2004, but those days may be numbered.
Eli Manning has played 207 straight games under center for the Giants, the longest active streak of consecutive starts in the NFL and will tie his older brother Peyton for 10th all-time should he make his 208th start next week against the 49ers. But with the Giants playing such uninspired football, Manning's run is suddenly at risk of ending.
After New York's embarrassing 51-17 loss to the Rams on Sunday dropped the team to 1-7 on the season, head coach Ben McAdoo said that the team might need to start looking toward the future and getting younger players more playing time in hopes of improving in 2018.
"Well, they've got to do what they've got to do," Manning said when asked about the potential change. "I want to be out there, I want to keep playing with my teammates and keep working."
Waiting in the wings is
Manning is 36 years old and has two years left on his contract. However, the Giants could save millions in cap space by deciding to cut him during the upcoming offseason. While it's true that Manning has been far from the only struggling player on the team — his receiving corps is unrecognizable due to injury and the Giants defense has been one of the worst in the NFL — if the team is going to look toward the future, it's likely a future that he is not a part of.
Should the Giants decide to burn the whole thing down and start over, no amount of Super Bowl good will would keep Eli in New York.
