John Mara Would Welcome Eli Manning Back To Giants

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Eli Manning's days of being the Giants' starting quarterback are over, but he has options within the organization, co-owner and team president John Mara told WFAN's "Moose and Maggie" show Friday.

Mara said he would welcome Manning to return as a backup quarterback, although he added new head coach Joe Judge would have to sign off on it. But Mara said he has also asked the two-time Super Bowl MVP to think about whether there are any other roles within the organization that interest him.

"I haven't closed any doors on that," Mara said. "Eli came to see me a few days ago, and we had a nice, long talk, but I don't think he's fully decided yet what he wants to do. And I've told him just take his time, think about it some more and then come back and see me again.

"Obviously, he's been the best representative of this franchise, maybe that we've ever had -- I mean, both what he's done on the field, the way he conducts himself off the field, the professionalism that he shows. You can't ask for a better representative than Eli Manning. So he's going to take his time, and we'll hopefully have another discussion at some point in the future."

Eli ManningUSA TODAY Images

The 39-year-old Manning, who was benched after Week 2 but made two other starts late in the year while Daniel Jones was dealing with an ankle injury, told reporters after the season that he doubts he'd accept a backup role in 2020, adding it's "no fun."

ESPN reported last month Manning would rather not retire and will look for a starting job elsewhere -- or at least a legitimate chance to compete for one. 

In his four starts this past season, Manning completed 91 of 147 passes (61.9%) for 1,042 yards with six touchdowns and five interceptions.