Eli Manning relays that he’s ‘not rushing into retirement,’ ‘enjoying every moment’

NFL: New York Giants-Minicamp

Giants veteran quarterback Eli Manning may be 38 years of age, but he’s not showing any signs of wanting to pass the torch anytime soon.

There’s been a lot of pressure for Manning to do exactly that, with the team having selected Duke product Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick in this year’s draft.

And sure, Manning (along with Joe Flacco) is among the least mobile quarterbacks in today’s NFL, which features explosive players all over the field, and exotic blitz looks to make it difficult on him, but he’s won two Super Bowl rings, and deserves the right to go out on his own terms.

He appears to be getting that, even with there being talk of a potential quarterback battle in training camp. Manning recently stated that he’s still enjoying playing, and that he’s not rushing into retirement, in an interview with Rod Walker of NOLA.com.

“You take it year by year,” Manning said. “I’ve been blessed going into my 16th year. That’s been a blessing in itself. I love what I’m doing. I love the work that goes into it. You never know when it’s going to be your last year or when it’s going to be the end for you, so you try to take advantage of the years you’re here and enjoy every moment.”

He continued:

“I’m not rushing into retirement, and Peyton’s not telling me to rush into it,” the Giants QB said. “I still love being around the guys and the teammates and playing this game. I’m going to play it for as long as I think I can hang with these guys.”

We’ll soon see if he can still hang. If he can’t, Jones is there waiting in the wings.

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