It feels like just yesterday that Eli Manning was gracing the NFL with his presence, but the iconic quarterback has finally retired. I know, right? What was one of the best Quarterbacks to ever play the game will no longer be playing on Sundays. What a time to be alive.
It all happened so quickly. One day Eli was still behind center, and the next he was making his retirement announcement, even though I know deep down that it was coming. Eli entered the league in 2004 and after 16 seasons as the New York Giants, wholesale jerseys he decided to hang up the cleats as of January 22, 2020. There has been a lot of speculation on why he made this decision at this time. But I think that it was simply time for him to move on. He has done more than enough to cement his place in the NFL, and as an all-time great quarterback.
When Eli first joined the league he was an unknown. He was drafted first overall after the Chargers had traded their pick away, giving him the opportunity to play in the big leagues. He was thrown into the fire and was expected to lead the Giants to greatness, which he did many times over. The only time during his career that he failed to do that was in the 2018 season, when the Giants had one of their worst records in the history of the franchise.
The thing that made Eli stand out was his seemingly effortless ability to guide the Giants to improbable victories. He was known for leading fourth-quarter comebacks and miraculous overtimes drives that ultimately brought the Giants five division titles, two Super Bowl championships and a Pro Bowl MVP award. In 2013, he even set a new NFL record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception.
Perhaps the most impressive part about Eli was his resilience. Despite playing through countless injuries, he always managed to remain on the field and lead the Giants to victories. He was famous for his ruggedly stiff-arm that enabled him to evade the quickest of defenders and deliver it deep to his receivers.
We will all definitely miss seeing that on the field. But we are lucky to have seen Eli play for as long as we did. He definitely left an impression on the NFL and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. So here’s to Eli, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game!
Now that we know Eli is already retired, it’ll be interesting to see what this means for the Giants. It’s safe to say that his departure will be felt, considering he was the leader and face of the franchise. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered about what direction the team will go now that he is gone.
The Giants have also had a tumultuous few years, so it remains to be seen how this will impact their future. Whether it will be a positive or a negative is something only time will tell. What we do know is that they are set for another rebuilding phase with a high chance of taking a new starting quarterback in the upcoming draft.
It will be strange not to see Eli in the Giants blue and red colors, but that won’t take away from all of the success that he has achieved during his career. He will remain a part of Giants history and for that, we should all be thankful. When Eli stepped onto the field, we all knew something special was taking place, and he will leave an indelible mark on the Giants—and the wholesale nfl jerseys—for years to come.