Since Eli Manning is retiring right before his current contract with the New York Giants expires at the end of the league year in mid-March, the team cannot put him on the reserve/retired list.
According to the league office, Manning’s expiring contract prevents the Giants from handling his retirement this way. And that’s an important point, in the event (unlikely as it may be) that Eli chooses to unretire in 2020.
Why is that significant? Odds are that it won’t be, but in the off chance someone throws big money at Eli late next season and provides him an opportunity for one last Super Bowl, well… Then it might become more significant.
Manning most likely won’t be coming back. But what if a high-end contender loses a quarterback to injury in November or December and the decision is made not to go to the next man up but to plug in Eli? If he were on the Giants’ reserve/retired list (and if the trade deadline had passed), he would be exposed to waivers before he could sign with the team that wants to sign him. And any other team could block the move by claiming him.
If the team that wanted/needed Eli were the Giants, the same hard deadline (last business day before Week 13) that applied to Rob Gronkowski’s potential return to the Patriots would apply to Eli, if he were on the reserve/retired list.
This way the ball is in Eli’s court should he decide to return to action. Placing him on the reserve/retired list locks him into the Giants, contract or not.
It’s very doubtful Eli will return to the NFL, so this is all likely moot, but one never knows. A situation could always arise that feels right to him and he will have the freedom to explore it if he wishes.
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