Giants Notebook: A New Gig for Eli Manning? Plus PFF Names This Giant as Its 2021 Giants Breakout Star
Retired no more?
Okay, maybe partially retired, but after a year away from the game, former quarterback Eli Manning is ready to return to the Giants in a front-office capacity, according to longtime sportswriter Gary Myers.
The Giants have always found a way to incorporate those former players looking to jumpstart a post-football career. Former fullback Charles Way was their Director of Player Engagement, a role later taken on by Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree, who held the role until last year.
The team has also hired former players as interns, including former cornerback Kevin Dockery, former fullback Henry Hynoski, and former defensive tackle Jay Alford.
In the past, the team has also had some of its former players work as summer coaching interns, like former cornerback Sam Madison, who these days is a member of Andy Reid’s staff in Kansas City.
And other former players like receiver Victor Cruz, offensive linemen Shaun O’Hara and David Diehl, tight end Howard Cross, Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson and linebacker Carl Banks have all contributed part-time to the team’s broadcasting division.
Manning would become the latest—and most high profiled--former player to date to take on some role in the organization’s front office.
Per Myers, Manning’s role probably won’t involve coaching—Manning has in the past expressed reluctance to commit to the long hours required of coaches because he has four young children whose lives and activities, he wants to be a part of. But a mentorship type of role could be in the making for the Louisiana-born Manning, who has adopted New Jersey as his home.
Manning, who is a natural in front of the camera, would also make a great addition to the team’s broadcasting division. We'll have to wait and see what kind of role the Giants come up with for him, but certainly whatever that role is, expect Manning to slay it in the same way he slayed a certain NFL team twice in the Super Bowl whose quarterback makes a return appearance in this year's big game with a new team.
Andrew Thomas Predicted to Be PFF’s Giants Breakout Star for 2021
Giants' offensive tackle Andrew Thomas was named one of six rookies from the 2020 season to have a breakout year in 2021 by Pro Football Focus.
In justifying its pick of Thomas, PFF notes the following for Thomas’s struggles as a rookie:
Early on in the season, he was getting impatient and would immediately pop out of his stance. The fourth overall pick overall had exceptionally poor timing, and that led to a lot of lost reps.
Thomas also had an ankle issue for which he had surgery earlier in the month that might have contributed to his struggles, and certainly, the revolving door at offensive line coach couldn’t have helped either.
But those struggles will hopefully be behind Thomas in Year 2, whom PFF equates to Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, a 2013 fourth-round pick whose numbers are eerily similar to Thomas’s.
The bottom line where Thomas—and any rookie really—is concerned is between his ankle issue, the coaching change, and not knowing f he was going to play right or left tackle until Nate Solder opted out and then not having an off-season to work with his new teammates, the fourth overall pick out of Georgia had a lot of odds stacked against him as a rookie that won’t be there once he begins Year 2 of what the Giants hope will be a lengthy NFL career.
Former Giants O-Lineman Arrested On Suspicion of Domestic Violence
Offensive lineman Chad Wheeler, who spent the 2017-19 seasons with the Giants and who most recently was with Seattle, was arrested early on Saturday morning for suspicion of domestic violence.
Per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Wheeler was accused of suspicion of felony domestic violence against his girlfriend at a residence in Kent, Washington.
Condotta, citing the police report, stated that the incident began when Wheeler, who has been prescribed medication for bi-polar disorder but who ceased taking it, asked the victim to bow to him. When she declined, he became physically aggressive toward her, allegedly strangling her after throwing her onto a bed.
The victim, who was treated at a hospital for a dislocated arm and bleeding, managed to barricade herself inside a bathroom where she called 911. Wheeler was then alleged to have picked the lock to further confront the victim.
Wheeler posted bond on Tuesday morning and was released from the King County Jail.
What's next for the Giants this off-season? Sign up for our FREE newsletter for all the latest, and be sure to follow and like us on Facebook. Submit your questions for our mailbag. And don't forget to check out the daily LockedOn Giants podcast, also available for subscription wherever you find podcasts.
