Eli Manning doesn't have anything left to prove to a majority of Giants fans.
That much was absolutely clear in November when the fanbase revolted against John Mara's, Ben McAdoo's and Jerry Reese's collaborative plan to phase out Manning and take a look at other quarterbacks.
That's what two Super Bowl MVP awards and championships will do for a face-of-the-franchise QB.
But in 2018, in Manning's 15th NFL season at 37 years old, he is about to enter a season for the first time knowing full well that he either must win or someone else will take his place.
He must prove, in other words, that he can still win – if not to the fans, then certainly to the Giants and to himself.
For while new GM Dave Gettleman told Manning in a recent meeting, per ESPN, that he wants him back as the team's starter, he also told him the team plans to scout potential first-round QB draft picks and continue to develop Davis Webb.
Manning reportedly acquiesced to that arrangement because he is confident in his own ability to win with an improved offensive line and running game and a healthy Odell Beckham Jr.
Manning knows that if the Giants immediately turn around from their 3-13 disaster of 2017 to make the playoffs in 2018, Manning will remain the quarterback throughout the season and perhaps even make an argument that he can do it again in 2019, the final year of his current contract.
But if Manning's first season under presumed new coach Pat Shurmur goes south quickly, and Webb or a first-round pick like UCLA QB Josh Rosen are deemed ready, Manning would find himself on the bench again – this time for good.
Now, granted, ever since Mara hired Gettleman and the GM endorsed Manning and Mara said he expected to win in 2018, keeping Manning always made the most sense as a short-term plan. He has a better chance of winning games next season than Webb, who hasn't yet played an NFL snap, or a rookie.
However, just because Manning is the Giants' best short-term option doesn't mean that he'll be good enough.
In next year's NFC East, bringing back Manning arguably gives the Giants at best the third-best quarterback/offensive situation in the division.
Philadelphia's Carson Wentz, one of the budding stars in the entire NFL, will be healthy with a formidable offensive line and running game at his disposal. And the Cowboys' Dak Prescott, who badly missed Ezekiel Elliott during his six-game suspension for domestic violence in 2017, should have his top runner back to punish defenses with balance the way Dallas did two seasons ago.
Washington's situation is unenviable and in flux: they either have to tag Kirk Cousins a third time for an absurd amount of money or find another solution in free agency or the draft, after taking a step back already in 2017.
But Gettleman has to deliver on his promise to improve the offensive line, and Manning has to deliver on his vow to himself that he can muster more mojo than he was able to in 2017 to let the Giants compete.
Otherwise, there truly will be no reason not to move on from Manning with an eye on the future.
The Giants presumably would handle Manning's next exit more tactfully and gracefully than this past season's public relations nightmare, when they ended Manning's ironman consecutive games streak at 210 (second all-time) to start Geno Smith in Oakland on Dec. 3, only for Mara to abandon the plan, fire McAdoo and Reese on Dec. 4, reinsert Manning and never play Webb as planned.
Manning means too much to this franchise to be treated the way he was this season. He could have accepted the initially proposed plan to play the first half and watch Smith play the second in Oakland, but he deserved better than what he got nonetheless.
Mara was extremely sensitive to his fan base's fury and now he, Gettleman and Shurmur are trying to rebuild the Giants to respectability with Manning at the helm. And that could be a feel-good story for the franchise.
But Manning also must know, now that he is signing up for 2018 and all it entails, that the pressure for him to perform in a Week 1 regular season start and beyond never has been so great as it will be next fall.
Maybe, if he pretends it's the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl, he'll be OK.
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