Via BaltimoreRavens.com comes the news that Joe Flacco is open to restructuring his contract to win. The 8-year veteran out of Delaware told both WBAL 1090 news radio and 98 Rock that he understands how his agreement might be hindering the team’s ability to go out and get some talent to help the strapped squad compete. New York Giants all-time leading passer Eli Manning should take notice.
From the WBAL 1090 interview:
"“Come on, I want to win… So, I want to do everything we can to get something done… I’m open to doing something.”"
From the 98 Rock interview:
"“…everyone is going to have a quarterback or somebody on their team that is getting paid this kind of money, and it’s going to become an issue at some point and they’re going to have to do something about it.”"
Inside the Iggles
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has restructured his contract a couple times to allow the team to acquire the talent that has consistently propelled them to 13 playoff runs in 15 seasons and 4 Super Bowl wins in 6 tries. If that doesn’t convince Eli to consider the possibilities then nothing will.
In 2015, Eli had his best season of his career… statistically. Yet, according to Spotrac.com, Manning was the fourth least “value” player on the team, behind Shane Vereen, Cullen Jenkins, and Jason Pierre-Paul. As a refresher, the value rankings were determined by ProFootballFocus grades as compared to the player’s salary cap figures (base salary + bonuses, etc.).
Manning’s average annual salary in 2015 was $21,000,000, which was 4th highest in the league among quarterbacks. His “true value” was 19.74 out of 100, which ranked 32nd out of 40 signal callers. Manning has the 4th highest cap hit out of all players in the league in 2016, third among quarterbacks. The two QBs ahead of him? New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Joe Flacco.
The Giants aren’t as strapped as the Ravens, Baltimore has the fifth lowest salary cap space available while the G-Men are 7th highest in the league and the most in the NFC East by a LONG SHOT. The Eagles come in at 22nd overall, Cowboys are 26th, and Redskins are 29th. This is Big Blue’s chance to scoop up a lot of talent in free agency and the draft and Eli Manning can significantly help out.