Eli Manning joked about looking buff as he posed for a photo with Jaxson Dart, visiting the New York Giants‘ latest quarterback recruit during their NFL rookie minicamp from May 9-10.
Manning is revered as a legend for the Giants, having led them to two victories in the Super Bowl against Tom Brady’s New England Patriots dynasty before he eventually retired in 2019.
Still a valued figure at the MetLife Stadium, fans can often see him in and around the organization and the weekend proved to be no different as the iconic QB headed to meet the next generation of New York talent.
No doubt his focus was on Dart, who graduated from the Ole Miss Rebels team in the NCAA after being taken at the Giants’ second pick. The 21-year-old is tipped with ending their quarterback woes from recent seasons after the team axed Daniel Jones.
Keen to get developing the talent early, it’s no surprise the 44-year-old Manning had some one-to-one talk time with him as they posed for photos where Eli made a funny quip.
“I’m not flexing…I promise,” Manning wrote on Instagram, showing a photo of him looking buff alongside Dart, who donned the red and blue Giants uniform and was assigned the number six.
Who will be the Giants’ starter?
If Dart can follow in the footsteps of Manning and produce half of the success, the Giants are in for a good time. Eli generated 57,000 passing yards across his career, along with 366 touchdowns and a completion rate of 60.3%.
However, fans will need to wait before they see him hit the NFL field as he finds himself firmly behind Russell Wilson in the pecking order and thus needs to work his way into contention.
“So again, Jaxson‘s going to come in, he’s got to learn the offense,” Joe Schoen, general manager, said. “There’s a lot to learn.
“These NFL offenses are hard to grasp and pick up and then be able to go out and execute, so the ability for him to learn and sit behind two consummate pros already will be beneficial for him.”
Wilson joined the team from the Pittsburgh Steelers and is a Super Bowl champion who has passed for 350 career touchdowns and 46,135 passing yards from 6001 attempts. He claimed his championship in 2013 with the Seattle Seahawks.
The 36-year-old departed the organization at the end of 2021 and had a spell with the Denver Broncos, before moving to Pittsburgh; whom he led to the 2025 Wild Card game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Finally he landed in New York and he’s signed to a $10.5m one-year deal in what could be the final year of his football career.
Read the full article here
