Since the news came out on Wednesday that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning would be announcing his retirement, player reaction around the NFL has been pouring in.
One of the things about Manning that was downplayed during his career was his personality.
ALL of our favorite Eli ~off-the-field~ memories
…you don't want to miss this one 🤗 #ThankYouEli pic.twitter.com/IMybqVMpql
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 23, 2020
Whether it was stealing cell phones and changing the language setting to Chinese or playing pranks on his fellow teammates, Manning had a sneaky sense of humor. The two-time Super Bowl MVP certainly has the personality and football knowledge to stay involved in the game in his post-playing career on TV if he chooses.
However, Manning’s former teammate Osi Umenyiora doesn’t see that way. On Thursday, Umenyiora spoke at length about Manning’s retirement, heaping praise on his former teammate and speaking candidly about their relationship.
“I think he’s going to retire very well to be honest. We all know the finances he was able to make,” Umenyiora said with a laugh. “Besides that, his personality, he’s just going to sit down somewhere and chill. I don’t think he’s going to be in the media. I don’t think he’s going to be like a broadcaster, he’s just going to fade off into the background and just chill. That’s how I see him retiring.”
Manning probably won’t give us much in terms of his post-playing career plans during Friday’s press conference, but he will certainly have options. Manning will be able to do what he wants as he certainly doesn’t have to worry about money.
Manning struggled to transition into a backup quarterback role, saying it wasn’t fun for him. With the Giants fully invested in Daniel Jones, the retirement makes sense even if Manning likely still feels he can still play. Retiring now should also make Giants fans very happy as he will avoid wearing another uniform, like Michael Strahan and Lawrence Taylor, he will have spent his entire playing career with the Giants.
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