Eli Manning Says Daniel Jones Deserves Long-Term Giants Contract After Playoff Run

New York Giants legend Eli Manning believes the team already has its franchise quarterback.

While Daniel Jones is scheduled for free agency this offseason, his predecessor hopes there is a new contract waiting for him after the Giants made the playoffs this season, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN:

"I was proud of Daniel, the way he played, to learn another offense and pick it up. Just the way he played in the fourth quarter of a number of games and leading the team back to victory, which was awesome, that's what you want that from your quarterback. To do it so quickly with the brand new offense, the way they were able to compete, make it to the playoffs, win a playoff game, that is awesome.

"I hope he gets rewarded for that. I hope he is the quarterback for the Giants for a long time."

While the contract situation is still up in the air, it would be a surprise if Jones was anywhere but New York during the 2023 season.

After all, the team can re-sign him or bring him back on the franchise tag. Raanan noted general manager Joe Schoen already said: "We're happy Daniel is going to be here. ... Hopefully we can get something done with his representatives. That would be the goal to build a team around him where he could lead us to win a Super Bowl."

For his part, Jones has said he "really enjoyed" his time with the Giants, adding "I want to be here."

To call the Duke product's start to his career a roller-coaster ride would be something of an understatement.

The Giants made him the franchise quarterback when they selected him with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 NFL draft, and he looked the part as a rookie while throwing for 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to go with 279 yards and two scores on the ground.

However, Jones totaled 21 touchdown passes to 17 interceptions in his next two seasons combined and failed to reach the 3,000-yard mark through the air in either.

New York declined to pick up his fifth-year option heading into the 2022 campaign, which put his future with the team in doubt.

Then all he did was lead the team to the playoffs with a 9-6-1 record as a starter while completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five picks. He also added career-best totals of 708 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground and looked comfortable in first-year coach Brian Daboll's offense.

Manning wants to see what Jones can do with more time in that offense with a new deal.