Kurt Warner Defends Eli Manning and Jabs Giants for Benching Him
By Kevin Aquino
A storied era in New York football came to an end after the Giants announced they would be starting 2019 first-round pick Daniel Jones over longtime QB Eli Manning this weekend.
NFL legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner quickly vocalized his support for Manning, who beat him out for the Giants' starting quarterback job back in 2004.
Kurt Warner Rips Giants For Benching Eli Manning, He's Not The Problem! https://t.co/MwB4JCeEhC
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) September 17, 2019
Warner took to Twitter to make his opinions on the situation known, responding to NFL media members and reporters, including Jim Trotter and former NFL lineman Ross Tucker.
Bc if they were going to do it now, with the way ELI played - they should have just done it to start season! To me this is just saying we started u bc you are ELI not bc u deserved it & that’s more disrespectful IMO than just starting DJ week 1!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) September 17, 2019
The Super Bowl XXXIV MVP believes that the Giants should've tried to replace players surrounding Manning before unceremoniously benching him, claiming that Eli hasn't played poorly enough to lose his job.
But with Big Blue going 0-2 to start the 2019 season, things had to be shaken up in a major way. With chances of an Eli renaissance being all but a pipe dream, New York should look to get the 22-year-old Jones acclimated to his new position sooner rather than later.
Guess I am just a believer in playing best guy and if u gave him the job & he didn’t lose it by playing badly - start replacing some other guys first! He has earned better than two games in his last season (if it is his last there which we would all expect)!
— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) September 17, 2019
At least Warner acknowledged that he may be biased given his history with the Giants and relationship with Manning, but there are definitely a good amount of Giants fans out there who feel like this move should've been made sooner.
Either way, Jones will have his first shot at being a New York quarterback when the Giants visit Tampa Bay this Sunday.