Giants co-owner John Mara said that while he has not closed the door on Eli Manning‘s return to the team as a player in 2020, he also mentioned “the possibility of thinking about other roles in the organization.”
“No I haven’t closed any doors on (Manning suiting up as a Giant again),” Mara said on WFA, via the New York Daily News. “Eli came to see me a few days ago, and we had a nice long talk. But I don’t think he’s fully decided yet what he wants to do. And I told him to just take his time, think about it some more and then come back and see me again.”
After the season, Manning told reporters that he isn’t interested in being a backup.
“I doubt it,” Manning said. “Backing up is not real fun.”
Mara thinks Manning would be open-minded to a backup role, but the plan is for Manning to take some time to figure out what’s next for him.
“Yeah, I think so,” Mara said. “Obviously that’s something that Joe Judge is gonna have something to say about, as well. And I’m not sure that that’s what Eli wants to do, but again he needs to think about it a little bit more.
“I’ve mentioned to him the possibility of thinking about other roles in the organization, and he’s just undecided right now. The season just ended recently, and he needs to take some more time and think about it. And I told him there’s no time limit on that. We’ll talk whenever he’s ready to sit down and talk again.”
Manning, 39, is a former first-round pick of the Chargers back in 2004. He was traded to the Giants during the draft and has spent all 14 years of his career in New York.
Manning played out the final year of his five-year, $101.5 million contract that included $65 million guaranteed and made a base salary of $11.5 million for the 2019 season. He’s now in line to be an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
In 2019, Manning appeared in four games and completed 61.9 percent of his passes for 1,042 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions.
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