According to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, the Giants would prefer to until after the 2014 season to address Eli Manning‘s contract.
As of now, Manning has two years remaining on his seven-year, $106.9 million contract that included $35 million guaranteed. The Giants currently have $4.57 million in available cap space, so there is some incentive to working out a contract extension now, especially considering that his 2014 cap figure sits at $20.4 million.
The problem is that Manning, 33, is coming off of a very disappointing season in which he led the league interceptions, and saw his offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbride, retire.
Graziano mentions that New York could “gain a great deal of financial flexibility” by working on an extension now, but they would also run the risk of paying a quarterback who continues to decline.
Last year, Manning completed 57.5 percent of his passes for 3,818 yards, 18 touchdowns an 27 interceptions. Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 32 quarterback in the league beyond the likes of Brandon Weeden, Matt Flynn and Matt McGloin.
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Make him play out his final two years and earn a new contract, don’t just give it to him for past success. He’s been horrible for 2 yrs running. PFF has him ranked the 32nd QB in the league. Does that sound worthy of a contract extension???
Seems like they should extend his contract now while his stock is low. He’s been in a slump like this before and come back to win a Superbowl. Extending him when he’s coming off a bad year could keep him in Giants blue for a much more cap friendly rate than if they wait for him to bounce back. If he continues to struggle they could trade him to a team desperate for a QB. A cap friendly extension would help facilitate any trades. If the Vikings were willing to trade for Josh Freeman then there is a team out there who would trade for a two time Superbowl winning MVP.