Eli Manning Post-Benching Props: Odds Against Trade, Favored to Retire After Season

• The New York Giants have benched Eli Manning in favor of rookie Daniel Jones
• Jones finished the preseason 29-of-34 for 417 passing yards, two touchdowns and interception
• Manning is unlikely to get traded in-season due to his no-trade clause and massive salary 

The New York Giants have made a switch at quarterback, inserting rookie Daniel Jones into the starting role while benching veteran Eli Manning.

Odds are now out on what will happen to Manning next: in-season trade or offseason retirement. Which is the best bet among these props?

Will Eli Manning Get Traded During the 2019 Season?

Odds taken 09/18/2019.

Manning Benched In Favor Of Jones

Manning hasn’t had a noticeably bad start to the regular season – he’s completing 62.9% of his passes with two touchdowns and two picks – but the Giants simply aren’t playing inspired football with him under center. He’s not crippling the team but he’s not helping, and they haven’t been competitive.

That being the case, the Giants – already at 0-2 – figured they’d have nothing to lose by switching to Jones. The rookie shined in the preseason, completing 29-of-34 passes for 417 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He should give this unit a shot in the arm, which it desperately needs.

Will Manning Get Traded?

Even to this day, there are still debates about Manning and whether or not he’s a starting caliber quarterback or not.

Remember, the Giants do have Saquon Barkley and an OK offensive line, but he has no receivers to work with. Golden Tate is suspended, Sterling Shepard is injured and Odell Beckham Jr. was traded away.

Many teams will look to the second of half the 2018 season where manning completed had 13 touchdowns and five interceptions in his final eight games and wonder what he can do with a better cast. We’re talking about a league where decent quarterbacking is at a premium, so Manning could be worth a flier.

When you look at a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chicago Bears or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they might be wondering if Manning is worth something like a fifth-round pick. For example, the Bears are basically using Mitchell Trubisky as a caretaker, limiting his throwing unless absolutely necessary.

Manning might be an upgrade in that type of a system – especially with a quality defense, offensive line and running game for support.

Or what about the Bucs? They’re probably not interested right now after Jameis Winston had a decent Week 2 but there were questions after he threw two pick-sixes in Week 1.

Will Eli Manning Start Another Regular Season Game in 2019?

*Odds taken 09/18/2019.

Head coach Bruce Arians loves his veterans (remember how he revived Carson Palmer’s career?) and if they feel like Winston is a dead-end for them, Manning could be an option. But there are two main factors preventing a trade from happening: his no-trade clause and his salary.

The latter is the main reason why Manning isn’t likely to get traded. He’s the sixth-highest paid quarterback this season with a salary of $23.2 million. Not many teams will be able to absorb that kind of number at this point in the season.

Will Eli Manning Retire After The 2019 Season?

*Odds taken 09/18/2019.

Will Manning Retire In The Offseason?

At this point, it looks like Manning has hit the end of the line with the Giants. Given his $20+ million salary in 2020, they’re not going to bring him back. The question is will he retire or will he opt for one more kick at the can? Manning is 38 and will be 39 in January.

One thing is for sure is that Manning won’t retire now. He has $11.5 million in salary that became guaranteed in Week 1, so he’d be giving that up for no good reason. The Giants could decide to pay him most of that and put him on the reserve/retired list, just so he’s not looking over Jones’ shoulder, but having Manning around could help him develop.

What’s The Best Bet?

I’d bet ‘no’ on Manning getting traded in-season and I’d avoid the retirement prop as I don’t have a good read on it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Manning retire before the season ended, have a farewell tour in December with the Giants or even be back next year with another team. I’ll pass on the second prop.

As far as starting one more game, I would actually bet ‘Yes’. There’s a slim chance he gets traded, there’s a chance Daniel Jones struggles or there’s a chance he gets hurt. If that’s the case, Manning would get back in the lineup. +200 is a reasonable payout for that flier.