Giants coach Pat Shurmur said Eli Manning is the team's quarterback for 2019, but he's not opposed to drafting a young prospect for insurance.
However, GM Dave Gettleman, also speaking Wednesday at the NFL combine, was less definitive than Shurmur when asked point blank if the Giants were committed to Manning in 2019.
"We're evaluating everything and we've just got to keep moving forward," Gettleman said.
Interesting. Dave Gettleman not as willing to commit to Eli Manning in 2019 as Pat Shurmur was. pic.twitter.com/gaOzirqfXf
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) February 27, 2019
Earlier, Shurmur said he “fully expects” Manning to be with the Giants for the upcoming season.
“I think Eli can help us win games,” Shurmur said, via the New York Post. “He proved, when the players around him started playing better, that he can play at a very high level and help us win games.
“Yeah, at this point I want Eli back. He’s back. Get ready to go with him.”
Manning's age (38) and struggles in recent seasons are counting against him, which is why Shurmur didn't deny the Giants could very well draft a quarterback such as Kyler Murray in April's draft.
“We evaluate all the quarterbacks every year,” Shurmur said, “regardless of whether it’s perceived we might be looking for one.”
The Giants hold the sixth overall pick, and Murray, along with Dwayne Haskins, could be scooped up by New York. Manning is in the final year of his contract and very well could be let go or retire at the end of the 2019 season.
"It's a never-ending process," Gettleman said. "We haven't even hit free agency yet. … We are where we are. Like Pat said, there's a million different models, there's a million different ways to do this."
Once again, Murray's smaller stature (he's about 5-10) was brought up, but Shurmur said that wasn't a huge concern.
"I don't know what's too small. Russell Wilson is 5-foot-10," Shurmur said. "When you watch [Murray] on tape, he's an excellent player. We're going to look at the player and decide whether or not he's a guy we want with the Giants."