Eli Manning Has 'No Retirement Plans' After Briefly Being Benched by Giants

Eli Manning has suffered through a 2-10 season and a controversial one-game benching, but the New York Giants quarterback has no intention of calling it quits this offseason.

"No retirement plans," he said Wednesday, per Andrew Siciliano of the NFL Network. "That's not on my mind."

Manning, 36, was benched by former head coach Ben McAdoo in favor of Geno Smith ahead of the team's Week 13 loss to the Oakland Raiders. While Manning has been mediocre this season, throwing for 2,411 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions and a 62.5 completion percentage, it came as a surprise that McAdoo and the team ended his 210 game starting streak.

After the benching, Archie Manning suggested his son might contemplate retirement following the season.

"There's no sense speculating," Archie Manning told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. "If he's still there—we don't know what their future plans are if other people are there. And you have no idea what other teams will think of a 37-year-old quarterback. You don't have any idea.

"Eli might say: 'I've had enough. I'm feeling good. I've got a beautiful wife, three little girls. I'm healthy. And that's it.' So there's no sense speculating."

The quarterback at least temporarily put that talk to rest on Wednesday, however, and interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo—who took over for McAdoo after he was fired Monday, along with general manager Jerry Reese—confirmed that Manning would be reinstated as the starter moving forward. 

"I'm excited about the opportunity to start this week and be out there with my teammates to play the Dallas Cowboys," Manning noted.

"This is all I know, playing for the New York Giants," he added. "I never want to change that."