National Football League roundup
Nov 28 (The Sports Xchange) - New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning probably would have preferred to be answering questions about last week or better yet, the upcoming week's game.
Instead, the veteran quarterback who has started 210 straight games for the Giants was standing before a crowd of reporters, at times fighting to hold back tears as he talked about the stunning decision by Giants coach Ben McAdoo to name Geno Smith the starting quarterback for this weekend's game.
Manning, who has two years left on his contract, was asked about the future. Composing himself, he said. "I don't know. I don't know. One week at a time."
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Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will make his first start since joining San Francisco when the 49ers play the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan met with Garoppolo and C.J. Beathard on Tuesday to inform them of his decision.
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Running back Darren McFadden announced his retirement after 10 NFL seasons.
McFadden was officially waived by the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, although news of the impending release occurred the day before. He played his first seven seasons with the Oakland Raiders before joining the Cowboys.
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Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told reporters that he has plenty of confidence in quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
With injured Carson Palmer pondering retirement, Arians was if he'd be confident with Gabbert as his starter next season.
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USC quarterback Sam Darnold dismissed a rumor that he would stay in school for his junior season should the Cleveland Browns secure the top overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
NFL Network's Albert Breer told Cleveland radio station 92.3 The Fan earlier this month that Darnold is "going to take everything into account and that includes who's at the top of the draft."
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Defensive back Dave Cloutier, who was the first native of Maine to play for the New England Patriots, died earlier this month at his home in Palm Coast, Fla., the team announced.
The Patriots said Tuesday that Cloutier died on Nov. 6 at the age of 78. The team did not disclose any details on the cause of death.
