Eli to Patriots? Jets fans should hope so

Now that the Patriots have sent the Giants a 38-year-old head coach, how do you feel about the Giants reciprocating by sending them a 39-year-old quarterback?

There's an idea making its way around Boston thanks to WBZ-FM's Felger and Massarotti that the Patriots should bring in Eli Manning to replace Tom Brady.

According to an article in the New York Post, Felger said, “There’s only one veteran name on that list where I would go, ‘I bet Bill (Belichick) could win with him’ … Eli." And Massarotti said in response, "I think Eli’s got balls."

Yes, he does. And Bill Belichick could probably win with Eli, but for how long and at what cost?

There are so many questions surrounding the Patriots since they were eliminated from the playoffs at home by the Tennessee Titans. The loss was their second straight home game since they lost to the Miami Dolphins the week before.

First off, the Patriots can bring back Tom Brady who, despite his age, hasn't lost it. What Brady has lost is quality players around him that can get the job done. Just because Brady put his house on the market doesn't necessarily mean he wants to leave. When Brady's father was asked if his son would return to the Pats, he replied "it's up to Bill" as in Belichick. If you're Belichick, who would you rather have, Tom Brady or Eli Manning?

If the Patriots did go with Manning, he wouldn't come cheap. Whereas Brady often gave money back so that the team could go sign players, Manning never did that for the Giants, and last year cost them $23 million against the salary cap.

Secondly, the Patriots have no idea at this point, with Josh McDaniel interviewing for head coaching jobs, who their offensive coordinator will even be. Why would you saddle a new OC with building around a 39-year-old quarterback who's lost a little something off his fastball? Ask Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur how that worked out for them, but ask them candidly.

Lastly, if you're the Patriots and you are moving on from Brady, would you rather get a quarterback who will be younger and cheaper that, hopefully, you can build your next generation of Super Bowl appearances around? Or would you rather another quarterback on his last legs that you can hopefully squeeze a year or two out of? Rarely does it work out.

The Denver Broncos won a Super Bowl dragging Peyton across the finish line and have been missing on quarterbacks ever since. Belichick is too smart to go that route but if you're a Jets fan, you should pray that he does.

The Patriots are at a crossroads now. Should they decide to try and squeeze more toothpaste out of their Super Bowl tube, then bring Brady back. If Belichick decides it's time to win one without Tom Terrific and with a new coordinator, then either trade up and draft a quarterback that you can groom or maybe wait and hope that teams won't take a chance on an injured Tua Tagovailoa in the first round and maybe he falls within our range.

If that happens, then the Pats can use the money they save at QB to go get more playmakers. Going the Eli Manning route, I think, just postpones the inevitable. That would be a good thing for not only the Jets, but everyone else in the division as well.

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