It is understandable that fans, teammates and players around the league are upset by Ben McAdoo’s decision to bench Eli Manning. But Peter King writes in Sports Illustrated that ultimately, it is the right call. Here’s why.
There is no good way to replace a quarterback who is not only the best playoff quarterback in your history but also has started every game for your team since mid-2004, and won two Super Bowls for your franchise. But you have to do it for the team. The Giants are 2-9, writes King, and the most important thing for the Giants come 2018 is deciding if you want to use one of your top-five draft choices on a quarterback of your future, or you want to let your 37-year-old quarterback continue.
King says even if you want to do both, you need to think of the franchise, not the person.
“When the person is gone, the franchise has to keep playing the games, and the best thing for you to do is figure out everything you can about the people to replace that person. The way to do that is to find out what’s behind Manning,” King says in Sports Illustrated.
King also brought up a few other important points, mainly, we don’t know who the coach or GM is going to be next year, so we don’t know if this is the end of Manning’s time with the Giants. Plus, Manning himself is smart enough to review his options in 2018 before doing anything rash. The Broncos will definitely want him, or McAdoo could get fired, and a coach who Manning is intrigued by could get hired.
On top of all this, King reminds us that Manning’s contract is a little tricky to trade, and he has two years left. He also has a no-trade clause in the deal, so he could refuse or block a trade.
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