The New York Giants are in the market for a quarterback of the future. Eli Manning is 38 years old and in the final year of his contract. They have several options staring them in the face this offseason — they can draft, trade or sign a successor to Manning.
It has become the buzz of social media and talking heads across the country.
Here’s the options the Giants could be looking into as free agency, the new NFL season and the NFL Draft rapidly approach.
Make a trade
It’s no secret the Arizona Cardinals, holders of the first overall selection in the upcoming draft, are not completely sold on quarterback Josh Rosen, their first-round pick from 2018.
New head coach Kliff Kingsbury is said to be enamored with Kyler Murray and general manager Steve Keim didn’t seem convincing this week when asked if Rosen was their starter of the future.
Kingsbury has mentored several star quarterbacks in his day — all players that can move well and process in and out of the pocket: Baker Mayfield, Patrick Mahomes, Johnny Manziel (humor me) and Case Keenum. Murray is player that would fit perfectly into what Kingsbury wants to do.
That would make Rosen expendable, perhaps for a single pick in this year’s draft. The Giants would have to name their price, considering they have interest. Last season, they did show some interest in Rosen, but felt he wasn’t worth the second overall selection, which proved to be true. This is a long shot, Giant fans, especially if the Cards want a first rounder in return.
Sign a free agent
By that we mean Nick Foles, who is headed for free agency March 13 after the Eagles decided not to apply a tag on him. That could put the Giants in play for the 30-year-old Super Bowl MVP.
Draft guru Tony Pauline recently tweeted that he heard the Giants would have serious interest in Foles should he reach free agency. The feeling here is that feeling would be mutual. Foles has a close relationship with Giants’ head coach Pat Shurmur and has stated that money is not his primary motivation as a football player.
Several teams, most notably Jacksonville, will be vying for Foles’ services and have much more salary cap room to play with than the Giants. But if familiarity and comfort are what Foles is searching for, the financial end may not be the deciding factor in choosing a new team.
Of course, this would mean the end for Eli Manning. The Giants would have to cut him and do it quickly of they have designs on Foles. Manning is due a $5 million roster bonus on March 17.
Draft a quarterback
With the sixth overall selection, the Giants would surely land one of this classes’ top passers. Murray and possibly Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins will likely be gone by the time the Giants are on the clock. They could try moving up to better their chances, but at what cost? They already don’t have a third round pick in this draft and putting together a package to move up could end up being a colossal, if not fatal, error.
The Giants might be better served by trading back, stocking up on a few more much-needed draft picks and taking Duke’s Daniel Jones or Drew Lock of Missouri. Both are highly-rated and predicted to be NFL starter material.
