Fans of the New York Giants are in a rare spot these days when it comes to the quarterback position. They were spoiled for years by the reliable Eli Manning, who started 210 consecutive games from November 2004 to November 2017, the third-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history.
Manning was yanked by then-head coach Ben McAdoo in favor of Geno Smith, an experiment that backfired and likely cost him his job. Manning then started the next 22 games before giving way to the Giants’ 2019 first-round draft pick Daniel Jones in Week 3 of that season.
Manning would spell Jones later in the season when Jones missed two games due to injury. It would be Eli’s NFL swan song as he retired at the end of the year.
The Giants believe they have their franchise quarterback in Jones, but he is no Eli Manning. Not when it comes to reliability, anyhow.
Jones missed two games again in 2020 and his 2021 season ended after 11 games with a neck injury. The Giants turned to backup Mike Glennon but now could pivot again with another switch after Jake Fromm showed promise late in the Giants’ 21-6 loss against Dallas last week,
Head coach Joe Judge has yet to make decision on who will start Sunday, leaving the door open for Fromm to make his first NFL start against the Eagles.
“We’re going to watch the guys practice throughout the week, and we’ll see where they are at the end of the week,” Judge said. “I wouldn’t expect any announcement until maybe the end of the week at the earliest.
“There’s a drastic difference between starting an NFL game and just coming in at the end. There’s a lot of things you’re going to see structurally, defensively, the situations in the game that pop up. Playing the entire game is a lot different than coming in at the end of the game and just playing a snapshot for us as a team to see.”
Fromm, who was signed off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad on December 1, completed six of 12 passes for 82 yards against Dallas last week. That performance was a sharp contrast to what Glennon had been bringing the past two games.
Fromm is gaining confidence and is ready for the big moment should it come.
“It’s been crazy,” Fromm told reporters Wednesday. “It sure has. There’s no other way to really put it. I’m super thankful to be here, I’m just ready to go, so excited. I’m ready for Christmas this week, this is awesome. Yeah, it’s just a great time of year and so thankful I’m here in New York.”
To potentially start against Philadelphia, one of the Giants’ oldest and most bitter rivals, adds even more juice.
“I heard a lot about the environment and for me, it’s just preparation and making sure everybody’s on the same page,” Fromm said. “Really, it’s just going out and executing whatever the plan is and just trying to tune it out the best you can and go play football.”
