Eli Manning Talks Giants, Daniel Jones, ManningCast, Stroud and More in B/R Interview

Sorry, New York Giants fans.

Eli Manning isn't going to rescue what is shaping up to be a lost season.

"I don't think that's happening," he told Bleacher Report while laughing and discussing coming out of retirement for the quarterback-needy Giants.

"I can probably still throw it around a bit, but I don't want to get hit anymore. Once you go three years without getting sacked, it's just kind of one of those things you don't really want to go back into. It's nice waking up every Monday morning and not feeling sore and being injured because of 300-pound men trying to rip your head off."

The 2023 Giants are 2-7 and a far cry from when Manning was under center as a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Super Bowl MVP and four-time Pro Bowler who threw for more than 4,000 yards seven times and cemented his legacy as a franchise icon.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

After all, New York made the playoffs last season for the first time since Manning was leading the way during the 2016 campaign. Not only did it make the postseason, it stunned the 13-4 Minnesota Vikings on the road in the first round.

The stage was set to take another step after an offseason that saw the team sign Daniel Jones to a new contract, bring back Saquon Barkley and trade for one of the best tight ends in the league in Darren Waller. Throw in continuity with another year of head coach Brian Daboll, and there was no reason for anything but optimism.

Instead, the Giants are in last place in the NFC East, Jones is out for the season with a torn ACL, and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor is sidelined with a rib cage injury.

"You just want guys to go out there and compete," Manning said when talking about what he is looking for from his former team the rest of the way even though there surely will not be another playoff appearance.

"It's not a great situation to be on your third quarterback, but I look forward to watching Tommy DeVito get better. I think the fact that he's going in knowing he's going to be the starting quarterback and getting all those reps while they set the game plan to fit his abilities and put him in a situation to have success will be better."

DeVito did show some improvement from his first game to his second.

The undrafted free agent entered the team's Oct. 29 loss to the New York Jets after Taylor exited and was an ugly 2-of-7 passing for minus-one yard in a loss. The offense barely attempted to throw the ball, and the Jets ended up coming back for an overtime win.

DeVito then came in for the injured Jones during the loss to the Las Vegas Raiders this past Sunday and went 15-of-20 for 175 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The offense was still stuck in neutral during a 30-6 loss, but at least the coaching staff trusted him to throw more.

Fortunately for Manning, he is doing much more than just watching the Giants this NFL season.

He partnered with Quaker Oats for its first ever Quaker Pregrain Tour, which is traveling to different stadiums around the league this season to introduce food items from the digital Quaker playbook as part of tailgates. The playbook has 32 recipes to represent every NFL team.

"Quaker Oats has been a staple in our household for a long time," Manning said. "Been a big fan, I've had oatmeal almost every morning for the last 15 years of my life. I was excited to kick off the first-ever Quaker Pregrain Tour."

What's more, Quaker donated $250,000 to GENYOUth to increase food security among children as part of the campaign.

"I believe in the values of Quaker Oats and what they mean and that the circumstances of life should never be a barrier to good nutrition," Manning said. "That's something I believe firmly in, and I'm happy to sponsor it with Quaker, who shares those same values."

He also said that outside of his traditional oatmeal, his favorite Quaker Oats recipe comes from his mother.

"My mom, growing up, her secret thing that she made was cookies that we all loved called lace cookies. They're made with Quaker Oats. That's been the family recipe, she still makes them around the holidays and sends them up here to New Jersey. When we do a trip home to New Orleans with my kids, the first thing they're asking for are those lace cookies."

For as delicious as they may be, Manning family bonding is not limited to cookies.

This is the third season of ManningCast, which features brothers Peyton and Eli watching Monday Night Football as an alternate broadcast to ESPN's traditional one. The brothers break down the game in real time and bring in celebrity guests from inside and outside football, and Manning said he can sense the overall improvement in the broadcast with additional experience.

"Just understanding that sometimes when Peyton and I are talking ball or explaining plays and defenses, we speak the same language but not everybody speaks that language," he said. "So I think both of us understand now we need to explain things a little bit better and ask questions of each other. Even though I know what Cover 4 is, if he's talking about it I'll say, 'Hey, Peyton, what is Cover 4? What do you mean by that?'"

Part of that improvement with more experience means breaking down the football all while entertaining viewers with interviews of guests that have included Aaron Rodgers, Will Ferrell, Trevor Lawrence, Klay Thompson and Arnold Schwarzenegger this season.

"Will Ferrell was pretty special," Manning said when talking about this year's guests.

"Getting to talk a little bit about Ma's Meatloaf was pretty awesome. There's been a lot of good ones. We had Arnold Schwarzenegger and his pet donkey this past week. I still think the donkey is named Peyton, I have not heard confirmation on that. That was an interesting one. That was a new one, a surprise for us for sure."

There are plenty of NFL storylines to follow on the ManningCasts for the rest of the season, including the Kansas City Chiefs' pursuit of another Super Bowl title, the upstart Detroit Lions potentially challenging the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC, and a long list of excellent quarterbacks in Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen and others who could challenge Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs.

But Manning looked outside the playoffs when asked what storyline he is most excited to follow down the stretch of the 2023 campaign.

"C.J. Stroud," he said. "What he's been doing in Houston has been awesome. For a young quarterback to come in and play so well and pick things up really quickly has been fun to watch."

The rookie signal caller has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,270 yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception this season and just led the Houston Texans to a dramatic comeback win in the final seconds of Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He seems well on his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year and is providing the type of quarterback play the Giants have been missing.

At least since Manning retired.