Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning spent most of the last two years serving as a mentor to his successor, Daniel Jones — first in Jones’ rookie year of 2019 as a backup and then as private citizen last year.
That mentorship continues to this day as Jones heads into his third year and may continue for as long as Jones wears Giants blue. Manning recently indicated that he was seeking to get more involved in football after taking a year off to recharge his batteries.
Manning recently revealed that he and Jones meet regularly for lunch. Eli, who has earned more money than any other quarterback in the history of the league during his playing days, picks up the check.
“I’m still kind of, seniority thing there,” Manning told The Post on Tuesday. “I’ll still buy him lunch for now — until he gets that second contract, then we’ll switch it up.”
That second contract could be in jeopardy if Jones continues along his current trajectory. In a year where the NFL set records for scoring and passing yards, Jones was near the bottom of the list when it came to both categories.
“He’s just learning,” Manning said. “Part of being a young quarterback is learning how everything works, learning how the NFL works, being the starting quarterback and the New York media and everything that goes with it.”
True, but many of the quarterbacks in this league who have undergone the same circumstances that Jones have fared better. Granted, Jones has had two head coaches and two offensive coordinators in his first two professional seasons. Manning said he saw improvement nonetheless.
“I thought the second half of the season he played much better,” Manning said. “He eliminated some of the turnovers, starting to learn how to manage the game and learn hey, when you got a bad play or the guy’s not open how to either tuck the ball or how to take a sack, knowing when it’s time to stop competing and stop trying to make something happen when nothing’s there. He did a good job of playing through injuries, learning how to play when you’re banged up.
“The Giants are on the right path, Daniel is on the right path, and they’ll continue to make strides as the whole team, a young team that continues to be around the same offense and get comfortable with the way it’s supposed to be executed.’’
Manning plans on being around for Jones to lean on while he takes on the challenges of being an NFL starting quarterback.
“I always tell him I want to be a resource for him,” Manning said. “I never want him to feel obligated to see me. I kind of leave it up to him. If you want to get together, you want to call me, I’m here for you. But I’m not gonna be the guy trying to be more involved than you want me to be.”
