Giants announce rookie Daniel Jones will take over for Eli Manning as starting QB
The New York Giants announced on Tuesday morning that rookie Daniel Jones has been named the team’s starting quarterback.
The sixth pick in this year’s draft, Jones was a three-year starter at Duke and was immediately seen as the Giants’ next starter – it was just a matter of when he took over, not if.
With the caveat that it was the preseason, Jones did play well during August. He completed 29-of-34 passes (85.3 percent) for 416 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
He got mop-up duty in the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys and went 3-for-4 for 17 yards. He picked up 5 yards on a keeper on third-and-4 but was stripped of the ball.
This likely signals the end of Eli Manning’s tenure as the franchise’s starter. After an 0-2 start to this season, the Giants were an even 116-116-0 during the regular season with Manning as their starter.
The No. 1 overall pick in 2004, Manning and New York were 8-4 in his six playoff appearances, with two Super Bowl titles. All eight postseason wins were in those two championship-winning seasons; otherwise, Manning was 0-4 in the postseason.
“Eli and I spoke this morning,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said, via the team’s website. “I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday.”
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In the first two games of the season, Manning completed 56-of-89 passes (62.9 percent) for 556 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time,” Shurmur said. “I have said it since I got here, I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli.”
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