Lost in the excitement of the New York Giants turning the starting quarterback role over to rookie Jaxson Dart is the fact that Russell Wilson was benched and may very well be done in the NFL as a starting quarterback.
Wilson, of course, claimed on Wednesday that he’s “not done.” However, with minimal interest this past offseason in his services, one has to wonder if he has started his last game.
If this is the end for Wilson, his career will go out on an ugly note. His final offensive series was highlighted by one of the worst four-play sequences arguably ever seen.
Wilson’s benching, which came in correlation with the announcement of this year’s modern-era Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees, has sparked an interesting hot take from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
“Eli Manning, two-time Super Bowl champion. You hate to say it this way, but it’s the truth. Take away the Super Bowls, what did he do? So you’ve got a career .500 record, 117-117. Okay? That’s Eli Manning’s record as a starter,” Smith said. “You’ve got seven winning seasons in 17 years, alright? A vast majority of the time, you spent missing the playoffs, and you’re going to the Hall of Fame? He’s not in, obviously, not as of yet. But he’s going to make it. He wasn’t first ballot, but one would surmise, he’s going to make it.
“Well, the first nine years of Russell Wilson’s career, he won football games. He also went to two Super Bowls, won one, okay? When you look at it from that standpoint, how could you put an Eli in and keep a Russell Wilson out? Who, by the way, his record — I’m looking at his record here — he’s 121-80-1. That’s 41 games over .500. You can’t put Eli Manning in the Hall of Fame and leave Russell Wilson out.”
The likelihood is that both Manning and Wilson will eventually get the Hall of Fame nod. However, it seems quite ridiculous to take away the Super Bowls from Manning’s career when, quite literally, the ultimate goal of playing the game is to win a championship.
Manning is a part of an elite class of just 13 quarterbacks to win two or more Super Bowls.
In the case of Wilson, he should have a second Super Bowl on his resume, but for some reason, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll decided not to give the best running back in the league the ball to score the go-ahead touchdown.
Smith’s take on it was, of course, more of a point that Wilson should be in rather than an indictment of why Manning should not be in. Eli, who is in his second year of eligibility, will eventually make the cut, and when that happens, his two Super Bowl titles over Tom Brady and the dynasty New England Patriots will be a major reason why.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Stephen A. Smith offers hot take on Eli Manning, Russell Wilson and the Hall of Fame
Reporting by Tyler Henry, Giants Wire / Giants Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
