Editorial

Eli Manning On Getting Benched: ‘There’s No Other Option But To Just Handle It’

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
Font Size:

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning seemed to be in surprisingly high spirits after getting benched.

Manning, who has been a fixture in New York for more than a decade, was benched earlier in the week in favor of rookie Daniel Jones. While that might have caused a lot of players to shut down, he handled it surprisingly well with the media. (RELATED: New York Giants Name Daniel Jones The Starting Quarterback, Bench Eli Manning)

“There’s no other option but just to handle it, and do my job, support my teammates, support the Giants and do what I can do to help to go into football games,” the two-time Super Bowl champion told the media Wednesday.

That’s a classy move from Manning to address it head on with the media. He’s been the starter in New York for a long time, and he played a huge role in the team winning two rings.

At some point, the party has to end for everybody. It’s been clear for some time that Manning was far out of his prime. The only question was whether or not the team would let him finish the season out as the starter or switch to Jones.

After two weeks and two losses, the decision was made to go to the former Duke star.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by New York Giants (@nygiants) on

Manning will now be a mentor for the next 14 games, and then will most likely retire. He’s headed to the Hall of Fame, made a ton of money and won two rings.

He should be proud as all hell of his accomplishments, and the way he’s handled himself through adversity should be a model for all athletes.

Props to him for keeping his head held high.