It's time for the Giants to sit Eli Manning

It's a wonder it hasn't happened yet, but after Thursday's debacle of a performance, the New York Giants have no recourse but to sit Eli Manning.

Facing the Washington Redskins in a dreadful Thanksgiving night game, Manning threw for 113 yards and one interception. If not for a 27-yard completion in the game's dying minutes, he would've finished with less than 100 yards passing.

The 14-year veteran has had a notable career and will likely end up in the Hall of Fame on the strength of his two Super Bowl victories, but at this point in the 2017 season, both the team and player have nothing to gain from Manning continually taking a physical and statistical beating the rest of the campaign.

At 2-9, the Giants' season has long been over, and Manning has already been robbed of just about every offensive weapon he was expected to have.

Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall have been on the shelf since Week 5, while Sterling Shepard has missed the last two games with migraines. The Giants have one of the NFL's worst rushing attacks and rank 29th out of 32 teams in total offense.

With no help for Manning and nothing to play for, it's time for the Giants to see what they have in third-round pick Davis Webb.

"I guess the normal procedure would be to start taking a look at more younger players but we're doing that, really, already, with the way things have come out injury-wise," head coach Ben McAdoo said Friday after the Giants' latest loss.

But they haven't done that at quarterback. Nothing should stop them from doing so now.

The Giants drafted Webb this year in the hopes that he could be Manning's successor. Now that New York is on pace to own a top-five pick in the 2018 draft, they need to see whether the 6-foot-5 Cal product is worth the team using that top pick at another position. If not, they could land one of the heralded quarterbacks expected to come out of the college ranks.

Is Webb a foundational piece, merely a depth piece, or a disposable asset? It would be ideal for the Giants to figure that out before they're on the clock with the option of picking or passing on Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, or Josh Allen.

If the only thing keeping the Giants from sitting Manning is his remarkable streak of 210 consecutive starts, a simple resolution would be to let their franchise stalwart start the remaining five games - either the first series, quarter, or half - and allow Webb to replace him and get his necessary work.

Manning can continue to build on his iron-man streak, and be spared the embarrassment of being asked to bow out.

Regardless, the Giants would be wise to find a quarterback who could grow with Beckham, much like the connection Houston Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson has already formed with DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.

Will Beckham be making one-handed catches off Webb's passes, or will Mayfield, Rosen, or another quarterback be on the other side of that partnership?

The future is already the focus for the Giants with a quarter of a season left to play.

"We need to get more out of the young players on our roster," McAdoo said.

That should include more information.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)