New York Giants: Pros and cons for keeping Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr.

Eli Manning

Pro: He can still play

In the offseason, people thought that the Giants should draft a quarterback who would eventually be Manning’s replacement.

Instead, they drafted running back Saquon Barkley because they thought that Eli could still get the job done.

While people were skeptical that Eli could get the job done, the fact is, arguably that he can still play.

This season, he had a career-best 66 percent completion percentage, threw for 4,299 yards, and had 21 touchdowns.

While those aren’t Super Bowl winning numbers, they are still good and shows that Eli can still play.

Cons: Deteriorating play and contract

For every pro, you could argue a con. That is more or less the same for Eli here.

If you look at Manning’s stats for this season, you might not think that he’s struggling, but you could argue that he is.

His arm isn’t as strong as it use to be and he’s not as mobile as he was before. He can no longer play at a high-level.

Then, there’s Manning’s contract. Manning has one year left on his contract.

Last week, Manning told reporters that there have been not talks about re-working his deal and that an extension hasn’t been discussed, according to Austin Knoblauch of NFL.com.

If the Giants cut Manning, they would save $17 million against the salary cap and have $6.2 million in dead cap space.

The question is do the Giants want to save $17 million and risk downgrading at QB?

Either way, the Giants need to evaluate if the pro out weighs the cons. The numbers might not e awful, but the old reliable eye test sort of was.

Now, the debate for Eli staying or going is more wide open. So, you decide which is better.

As for Odell, he is likely staying, but he is not perfect either. Let’s get into him next.