GMEN HQ
FanSided

5 NY Giants players the front office gave up on too soon

These players achieved their full potential following their playing days with the Giants

By Adam Bernstein

Wild Card Playoffs - Los Angeles Chargers v Jacksonville Jaguars
Wild Card Playoffs - Los Angeles Chargers v Jacksonville Jaguars / Kevin Sabitus/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next

2. QB Geno Smith

Daniel Jones is not the only starting quarterback in the league that the New York Giants have had; Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith was with the G-Men in 2017 as Manning's backup. Giants head coach Ben McAdoo benched the two-time Super Bowl champion for Smith against the Raiders, ending the second-longest consecutive-starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history.

While Smith only played one season with Big Blue, he'll be remembered as the quarterback who replaced Manning. Eli had started 210 consecutive regular-season games across 13 seasons, second only behind Brett Favre's 297 straight. Geno came in for No. 10 in relief late in the fourth quarter in Week 9 and earned the start against the Raiders in Week 13 because of the team's offensive struggles. Despite the team being 2-9, the decision to bench the four-time Pro Bowler upset many fans, media members, and even Manning, who was emotional then.

Flash forward to 2019; Smith signed with the Seattle Seahawks to compete with Paxton Lynch for the backup quarterback role for Russell Wilson. Although he did not see any opportunities right away with Seattle, Geno returned to the Seahawks and would finally get his chance in 2022 when the team decided to trade Wilson to the Broncos. Smith competed with Drew Lock for the starting job but ended up winning the role, and it proved to be the right decision by the Seahawks.

In 2022, Smith finished the regular season with numerous career highs, completing 399 of 572 passes, with a league-leading 69.8% completion percentage, for 4,282 yards, 30 touchdowns, and a 100.9 passer rating in 17 games. He earned his first career Pro Bowl and was named the Comeback Player of the Year award, not to mention helping lead the Seahawks to a playoff berth. This past year, Smith had 3,624 passing yards and 20 touchdowns and was named to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. While McAdoo may have seen this potential in Geno in 2017, Giants fans will never forgive him for sitting Manning for him.

Home/NY Giants News