Eli Manning gave an interesting answer Wednesday when asked whether he expects to be the Giants' starting QB in 2019.
"I don't know" Manning said. "Have not got into that or thought much about that, and so just worried about doing my job and finishing this season."
When SNY's Ralph Vacchiano followed up to note Manning's answer was a bit different than usual, Manning said he "didn't know last year, either" before adding "we'll figure it out."
"Whenever you get to year 15, these things come up," the 37-year-old Manning concluded.
Manning will start for the Giants at home in Week 17 against the Cowboys, in what he said will be just any other game to him. Head coach Pat Shurmur said the plan is for Manning to start and hopefully finish "in victory formation."
While Manning has struggled at times this season -- especially during the first half of the season as the Giants sank to 1-7 and the offensive line was almost impossibly porous -- the Giants have no plans to move on from him in 2019, Vacchiano has reported.
"I think Eli's been doing some really good things," Shurmur said Monday in the wake of the Giants' loss to the Colts that dropped them to 5-10. "I think we as a team - and it's fair to say this about the quarterback too - we're real close. He's contributed in a really good way."
Manning is under contract through next season, when he'll earn an $11.5 million base salary that comes with a $23.2 million cap hit.
Manning has completed 356 of 535 passes (66.5 percent) to go along with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 games this season.
The Giants are currently in position to have the No. 8 pick in the NFL Draft, though the quarterback class is not viewed as being nearly as strong as the 2018 class that saw Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen were all selected within the first 10 picks.
Among the potential first-round quarterback talents who could be available in the 2019 Draft are Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock, Daniel Jones, and Ryan Finley.