Sep 172019
 
Daniel Jones and Eli Manning, New York Giants (September 8, 2019)

Daniel Jones and Eli Manning – © USA TODAY Sports

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DANIEL JONES NAMED STARTING QUARTERBACK…
The Daniel Jones era has officially begun. The team issues a statement on Tuesday naming Jones the starting quarterback, effectively bench quarterback Eli Manning. Jones’ first start will come against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

“Eli and I spoke this morning,” Head Coach Pat Shurmur said in a prepared statement. “I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel. Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday.

“Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time. I have said it since I got here, I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli.”

The Giants selected Jones with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. In four preseason games, Jones completed 29-of-34 passes (85.3 percent) for 416 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 137.2 quarterback rating.

Except for the one game that former Head Coach Ben McAdoo benched Manning in 2017, Manning has started every game for the Giants since November 21, 2004. Ironically, his regular-season career now stands at 116-116. Manning owns practically every quarterback record in franchise history. He is 8-4 as a playoff quarterback and a two-time Super Bowl MVP. His best season was 2011 when he carried the Giants to the playoffs, highlighted by eight come-from-behind victories. In his regular-season career, Manning has thrown for 56,537 yards and 362 touchdowns.

GIANTS CLAIM KADEN SMITH OFF OF WAIVERS, CUT PAUL PERKINS…
On Monday, the New York Giants claimed tight end Kaden Smith off of waivers from the San Francisco 49ers. To make room for Smith, the team waived running back Paul Perkins.

The 6’5”, 249-pound Smith was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the 49ers.

Perkins was drafted by the Giants in the 5th round of the 2016 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Perkins played in 14 regular-season games with one start, carrying the ball 112 times for 456 yards (4.1 yards per carry) and 15 catches for 162 yards (10.8 yards per catch). In 2017, Perkins started the first four games, but then suffered a rib injury and lost his starting job to Orleans Darkwa. He played in 11 games and finished the year with 41 carries for 90 yards (2.2 yards per carry). Perkins was waived with a non-football injury in May 2018 and placed on Injured Reserve with a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered before the offseason program began and missed the entire season.

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players were off on Tuesday and return to practice on Wednesday.

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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