Giants Bench Eli Manning, Name Daniel Jones Starter

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The Eli Manning era for the New York Giants is done.

The Giants benched Manning, a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, and possible hall-of-famer, in favor of Daniel Jones on Tuesday. The organization announced the move on its Twitter page just after 10 a.m.

"Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time. 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," head coach Pat Shurmur said in a statement tweeted by Dan Salomone, a staff writer for Giants.com. "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."

The Giants are 0-2 to start this season, getting blown out by division rival Dallas in week one and by the Buffalo Bills in their week two game.

Twitter users reacted quickly to the move.

"Wow, Daniel Jones officially named the starting quarterback for the Giants. That happened fast," Clay Travis said. "The Eli Manning era is over. Wonder if Giants might try and trade him now?"

"In all seriousness, this is the end of an era. Eli Manning has been my quarterback since I was a little boy," Jake Montgomery said. "Thank you, Eli for being that one constant in my football life and for all the amazing memories, growing up as a Giants fan."

Manning has thrown for just 556 yards and two touchdowns this season, according to profootballreference.com.

Jones played one series in the Dallas game, going three-for-four for 17 yards, according to profootballreference.com.

Jones averaged 12.2 yards per pass attempt in the preseason, both first among quarterbacks who threw more than six passes, Salomone said on Twitter.

The Giants selected Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft in April. It was long speculated that the Giants would take a quarterback as a possible heir-apparent to Manning or a defensive player, but Jones' selection took everyone by surprise. A crowd at MetLife Stadium rained down boos when Jones was selected.

Jones completed nearly 60 percent of his passes, had 52 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in three seasons in college for the Duke University Blue Devils. (See related: New York Giants Draft Duke QB Daniel Jones)

Manning was drafted by the Giants in 2004. He took over the reins from Kurt Warner, another Super Bowl-winning quarterback, when the Giants were 5-4 that same year.

Daniel Jones had a 137.3 passer rating and averaged 12.2 yards per pass attempt in the preseason, both first among quarterbacks who threw more than six passes.
— Dan Salomone (@NYGsalomone) September 17, 2019

Wow, Daniel Jones officially named the starting quarterback for the Giants. That happened fast. The Eli Manning era is over. Wonder if Giants might try and trade him now?
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 17, 2019

Eli Manning is sent to the bench with a career record of 116-116. Timing is everything.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) September 17, 2019

In all seriousness, this is the end of an era. Eli Manning has been my quarterback since I was a little boy. Thank you, Eli for being that one constant in my football life and for all the amazing memories, growing up as a Giants fan. pic.twitter.com/vXXUAmmhFU
— Jake Montgomery (@JakeM0NTGOMERY) September 17, 2019

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com