Gettleman: Narrative that Manning can't play is 'a crock'

Dave Gettleman is once again standing behind his veteran quarterback.

During a conference call Monday, the New York Giants general manager confirmed Eli Manning will receive his $5-million roster bonus for the upcoming campaign, according to USA Today's Art Stapleton.

"On offense, you gotta have a QB run out there," Gettleman said, according to NFL Network's Kim Jones. " ... This narrative that Eli is overpaid and can't play is a crock. It really is."

Gettleman added that keeping Manning on the Giants' 2019 roster "really wasn't a hard decision to make," according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

The 38-year-old passer was more effective toward the end of last season, as the GM's noted multiple times this winter, but struggled overall, averaging 7.5 yards per attempt while tossing 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

New York's front office is so committed to starting Manning that the team's reportedly not interested in selecting top prospect Dwayne Haskins in the 2019 draft.