Giants GM Jerry Reese admitted during Monday’s press conference that they plan to be on the lookout for a quarterback who could eventually take over for Eli Manning.
“We always think about every position. But Eli is 36, and we have started to think about who is the next quarterback, and who is in line,” Reese said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN. “So we will look into that as we move into the offseason.”
Reese did stress that Manning being 36 years old doesn’t mean he nears the end of his career.
“Thirty-six, I don’t think that is ancient for a quarterback,” Reese said. “I think he is probably on the back nine, but I don’t think that is ancient for a quarterback, and he is taking care of himself really well, and I thought he finished the season strong.”
Raanan mentions that Manning will undoubtedly be the Giants’ quarterback in 2017 and likely even longer than that.
Both of the Giants backup quarterbacks — Josh Johnson and Ryan Nassib — are in line to be free agents in the coming months, so there’s even more incentive for them to bring in another quarterback.
It’s possible the Giants could look to the draft for someone but the question is how high in the draft are they willing to address the position.
Manning, 36, is a former first-round pick of the Giants back in 2004. He’ll be entering the third year of his five-year, $101.5 million contract that includes $65 million guaranteed and stands to make a base salary of $13 million for the 2017 season.
In 2016, Manning appeared in all 16 games for the Giants and threw for 4,027 yards while completing 63 percent of his passes to go along with 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 28 quarterback out of 36 qualifying players.
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