Eli should go before it gets ugly

Eli Manning has pictures. He has a picture of escaping a rush to throw to David Tyree who made "The Catch" in Super Bowl XLII, along with the shot of Plaxico Burress catching the winning touchdown which took forever to come down in the same game. He also has the shot of him throwing to Mario Manningham in Super Bowl XLVI, which lead to another beating of the New England Patriots. He also has countless pictures of him leading the Giants offense to come from behind leads. Lately they have not been winning those games and that's why it's time for Eli's latest picture, taken in the end zone at MetLife Stadium before Big Blue's final game of 2018, that should also be his last.

It's time to move on. I believe if Eli had been drafted by Jerry Reese instead of Ernie Accorsi, he'd be gone already. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has been ridding the team of Reese's picks and signings since he got here. The latest one being Odell Beckham Jr. While Gettleman continues to search for money to spend for the cap strapped Giants, there sits a 38-year-old Eli Manning making 23 million dollars this year.

There are those who think that if they let Manning go, they could have not only kept Landon Collins and retained Beckham, who clearly was not happy with his quarterback, but added other pieces as well that could get the Giants the defensive help they so desperately need. It will not be long before the fans take out their team frustration on the quarterback.

If the Giants are in rebuilding mode, why do it with a 38-year-old quarterback? If the intention is to draft a quarterback to sit behind Manning, what would be the point? Better to just throw him in there after a few games like when Eli started. It took Tom Coughlin 9 games to insert Manning over Kurt Warner who had the team 5-4 at that point. Do you think these Giants fans are going to be that patient while Eli misses or doesn't see open receivers with a viable option on the bench? Do the Giants need to spend 23 million on a mentor for a young quarterback? That's money that would be much better spent to help the team in other areas.

Eli Manning is due a 5 million dollar roster bonus on Monday. At the end of last season when discussing Manning, Dave Gettleman said he was going to do what's in the, "best interest of the New York Giants." I think letting Eli Manning go would be in the best interest of both the Giants as well as Manning himself.

Eli Manning should be remembered for winning 2 Super Bowls. The Giants did not do right by him after that, in the way of getting him the blocking he needed to make plays. They wouldn't be doing right by Manning to trot him out to lead this team with his replacement waiting in the wings and frustrated fans waiting to pounce on every mistake. Eli deserves better than that. It's time to give him a day, retire his number 10 and take one final picture.

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