Eli Manning, one of the iconic players of his generation, and one of the most doubted NFL legends of all time decided to retire. On Friday Eli Manning’s retirement will become official during his scheduled press conference.
Manning Soon to Reveal the News
It is expected that the two time NFL champion announces his retirement this Friday at the press-conference organized just for this purpose.
Giants’ co-owner John Mara issued a statement earlier today listing all the achievements Manning posted during his time with the team. Mara also expressed his love and gratitude to one of the guys who shaped New York’s history.
The previous years of the 39-year old weren’t that shiny, as six of the latest seven ended with a losing record. This one last campaign saw him being a starter for just four times, due to Daniel Jones’ establishing as the new starting QB of the Big Blues.
He said goodbye from the home crowd in Week 15 in a win against the Miami Dolphins, 38-20, snapping a nine-game losing skid of the Giants, and making his last exit from the stadium a winning one.
The fans showed nothing but love to their favorite, as well as the harsh and often very cruel New York media.
There were some rumors that he could move on to some other team, as he wanted to play at least one more season, but apparently, that isn’t going to happen.
Manning’s Influence on the Giants
The younger of the Manning brothers have two Super Bowl trophies and two Super Bowl MVP awards. Both times his Giants started the playoff quest from the Wild Card round, and beat the New England Patriots in the finals, back in 2007 and 2011.
Although his stats aren’t impressive as with some other elite QBs, Manning is considered to be one of the best playoff clutch players in history.
He has a 117-117 record in the regular part of the season, and 8-4 in the playoffs, and is one of the toughest QBs ever. He played in 210 consecutive games, which is the record for a quarterback in the NFL.
Manning started his professional career in 2004, being drafted as the first overall pick by the San Diego chargers, but was traded the day after for Phillip Rivers.