It is less than one week away from the New York Giant's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys but the former's quarterback, Eli Manning, has yet to sign a long-term extension deal with the team.
The 34-year-old Manning is usually not outspoken about contract details but he has just expressed a sense of urgency in landing the deal. Speaking to Tom Rock of Newsday, he said, "I'm not a big fan of negotiations going on during the season. I'm hoping if this is going to get done, it's going to get done very quickly. I would think both sides would want to do it that way and not have these talks continue on."
The Giants quarterback is slated to get $17 million in 2015 while entering the last year of a six-year, $97 million extension he signed before 2009 season--a deal that temporarily made him the NFL's highest-paid player.
For most of the summer, Manning's side and the team were believed to be far apart with the contract's terms. Giants co-owner John Mara mentioned that during the start of training camp, Manning's agent Tom Condon was reportedly asking "for the moon." As such, Mara said that he is not sure when the team and the quarterback will settle for a new contract, but he expressed confidence that it will happen.
Meanwhile, the quarterback also has something to say about Jason Pierre-Paul's return. The Giants defensive end had his right index finger amputated following a fireworks accident during the Fourth of July celebrations.
On Monday, the New York Giants medical team was able to examine Pierre-Paul's hand injury and reportedly evaluated when the player will be able to play again. While many fans are excited about JPP's come back for the season opener, Manning reminded them that his fellow Giants player's return is still not set in stone.
In a NY Daily News report, Manning explained, "We'll see how everything goes and when he can get back to playing. [There is] still a lot of uncertainty. We've got to focus on just getting ready for the Cowboys and go out and do our job and when he (Pierre-Paul) can come back and join us that'll be great. Obviously, he wasn't out there today, so I think you just plan and prepare as if he won't be out there. If he can get back and practice this week? Great. If not, we'll just keep going forward and wait until he gets back."
