The NY Giants and Eli Manning are working on a contract extension and a deal could come ahead of training camp and this comes as Jason Pierre-Paul could holdout before signing his franchise tag deal after JPP had to have his finger amputated, while Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are on track to start Week 1 on the field for New York.
The Giants and Manning talked about an extension earlier in the offseason, but both sides said they were comfortable if the quarterback played out his deal this year. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Giants are "hoping" to get a deal done in the "coming weeks," as that would take lock up the leader of the team ahead of camp and the season. Manning will be worth $20 million on the cap this year and if the team signs him to an extension, the cap hit number likely will come down.
Manning had a bounce back season last year after a dreadful 2013 and the Giants are confident that he can continue playing at a high level. Rapoport writes that both sides are in favor of getting a deal done and that could help move things forward. Fellow 2004 draftee Ben Roethlisberger just signed a major extension worth $60 million guaranteed over five years, while Philip Rivers and the Chargers are also working on a deal this offseason.
Manning comes in after passing for 4410 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season and those numbers were a significant improvement from 2013. Manning had 27 picks that season and completed just 57 percent of his passes, but last season he set a career high with a 63 percent completion rate. Manning's agent Tom Condon said to the New York Daily News last month that he was "confident" that the two sides will get a deal done at the "appropriate time."
The Giants have been in the news this past month because of the JPP situation, as the defensive end had not yet signed his franchise tender or long term contract when he suffered injuries in a fireworks accident. Pierre-Paul now may need weeks to recover after having a finger amputated and dealing with fractures in his thumb and he could stay away for camp until he is fully healed. According to Jason La Canfora at CBS Sports, the Giants are "nowhere close" to signing JPP. The team has a $14.8 million tender for JPP, but the sides did not get a long term deal done by the deadline after using the franchise tag on the defensive end.
The Giants have Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham both a bit banged up coming into camp, but both players are expected to be ready for Week 1 of the season. According to Giants.com, Cruz is expected to play in the preseason after coming back from a knee injury and he may also avoid the PUP list in camp. Beckham is coming in with a hamstring issue and he missed out on minicamp, but he could be ready for training camp for the Giants.