Ryan Nassib was drafted in the fourth round a year ago to presumably be the future of the New York Giants franchise when Eli Manning decides to move on. Touted as one of the more promising quarterbacks of his class, the former Syracuse star would have the ability to develop as Manning's backup. However, for most of the offseason his future has been put into question with the Giants and his struggles at minicamp are not helping.
Right now, the Giants are carrying three quarterbacks on the roster, Manning, Nassib and Curtis Painter. Originally, the team also had Josh Freeman on the roster which is what put Nassib's future in question in the first place. Many NFL sources were reporting that the Giants could try and trade the backup to a team looking to acquire a potential starter. However, Freeman's release mean that Nassib would stay put, or does he?
According to the New York Post, Nassib has not looked good in organized team activities which could potentially lead to his release before training camp. Giants beat writer Bart Hubbuch is reporting that so far in practice, Nassib has been an interception machine, struggling during 11-on-11 drills in Ben McAdoo's new offensive scheme. Considering the other option the Giants have at a backup quarterback, this does not look good should Manning get injured. The role of backup has been essentially guaranteed for Nassib after the release of Freeman, but his early struggles might force New York to make a move.
"It's definitely a process, and it's coming along slowly," Nassib said, via New York Post. "They're putting in new stuff every day, and it's all about learning it as quickly as you can. It'll take some time, but it's coming. Being a competitor, you want to get out there and play and compete. It's also good to sit back and learn and develop, because there have been a lot of great quarterbacks who sat their first few years. I'm extremely happy with what's going on here."
The Giants simply cannot afford to release Nassib. There are no other options for them to pick up off the free agent market at this time. The team would have to make a trade for someone like Christian Ponder or possibly Matt Barkley in order to get someone that might be able to fill in for Manning if need be. Ponder has been on the market for a year now, but no team is really willing to give anything up for him. Barkley is in a battle with Mark Sanchez and both quarterbacks are reportedly struggling right now which could spell the end of the road for someone.
It is extremely early in the NFL season. The Giants are not even in mandatory minicamp yet. Nassib's struggles are worrisome, but not alarming. The Giants will not make any move unless things like this keep up into training camp.