Eli Manning Likely to Start Monday Night vs Eagles Due to Daniel Jones High Ankle Sprain
By Adam Weinrib
It turns out that the nasty hit that appeared to crunch Daniel Jones' ankle in the fourth quarter of New York's loss to Green Bay appears to have delivered appropriate damage.
After a roller coaster year from the rookie, accented by plenty of "boom," as well as fumble-related "bust," Pat Shurmur told the media on Wednesday that Jones is in a boot nursing a high ankle sprain.
His backup for Monday night's game in Philly? Eli Manning.
Daniel Jones in a boot + has moderate high ankle sprain, per Pat Shurmur. He couldn’t play if Giants had game today. Shurmur compared it to what Saquon Barkley had, slightly less severe. Barkley missed three games. So get ready for the return of Eli Manning on Monday vs Eagles.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 4, 2019
One one hand, it's at the very least interesting to see Manning get a swan song in an otherwise-lost season. On the other, truly the only thing that might matter for the G-Men over the season's final four weeks is getting a chance to evaluate Jones' growth, and that may now be a no-go.
Also, there's the cheeky little thing that many of the worst games of Manning's career have come on the road in Philly against an aggressive pass rush, so this may not be an enjoyable send-off, either.
#Giants coach Pat Shurmur tells reporters that QB Daniel Jones is in a walking boot with a mild high-ankle sprain… and Eli Manning will “very likely” start on Monday. So, Manning gets a potential farewell tour, after all.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2019
This may be the final time Giants fans can ever see the two-time Super Bowl champ don their uniform, so they might want to take advantage.
Of course, Jones might also shut things down for the campaign entirely, leading to a strange four-week coda at the end of another disaster. Nothing gold can stay.