Giants GM Jerry Reese indicates they need to find Eli Manning’s future replacement

After a playoff loss against the Green Bay Packers, and with an aging quarterback in Eli Manning, the New York Giants are starting to consider the future.

GM Jerry Reese indicated as much when speaking to reporters on Monday.

“We always think about every position, but Eli is 36,” general manager Reese said, via the New York Daily News. “We have started to think about who’s the next quarterback, who’s in line. So we’ll look into that as we move through the offseason.”

The only other quarterback on the roster is Josh Johnson, and he’s not considered to be a future prospect for the team. While Reese didn’t say that the team needed to make a move, his comments are indicative of a team that’s undoubtedly starting to think long-term.

“Thirty-six, I don’t think that’s ancient for a quarterback,” Reese added. “I think he’s probably on the back nine, but I don’t think that’s ancient for a quarterback.” Back nine — for those unfamiliar — is a golf term referencing the final nine holes of an 18-hole course, and also is used to describe a veteran player that’s on the decline.

Head coach Ben McAdoo was complimentary of Manning’s play this season. “Eli, to me, was moving better in the pocket than he has since I got here. He threw with tremendous zip all season,” McAdoo said. “He had a couple come out funny, but a lot of guys do in weather games.”

Reese also pointed out that it wasn’t a down year for Manning, but indicated that he’d like to see a better offense. “I wouldn’t say it was a down year (for him), I just think, offensively, as a whole, it just didn’t function as a unit like we thought it would.”

Manning’s numbers were pretty consistent with what he had been putting up for the majority of his career. His passing yardage was down for the first time since 2013 — and he threw nine less touchdown passes — but the Giants struggled on the ground all season, and there’s no question that affected the offensive flow.

The past handful of years have shown that quarterbacks are able to turn in great seasons at the end of their careers, with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady the latest examples. So while the Giants are acknowledging a need to find a Manning’s replacement, they probably also realize that they might have at least a couple of years to do so.