Freshly turned New York Giants backup quarterback Eli Manning doesn't know what the team he won two Super Bowls with plans on doing next season, but he's firm when it comes to his personal goals.
"I plan on playing next season," Manning said following New York's 24-17 loss to the Oakland Raiders with Geno Smith under center, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.
Smith went 21-of-34 passing for 212 yards and one touchdown as the Giants lost again on Sunday, which reaffirmed to many disgruntled fans that the current 2-10 season is not the fault of Manning, who'd started 210 consecutive games for the franchise.
The veteran passer had completed 62.5 percent of his attempts for 2,411 yards, 14 touchdowns, and seven interceptions through 11 games.
While a report surfaced Sunday morning that head coach Ben McAdoo's future with the Giants could be directly tied to the team's performance following his decision to bench Manning, the longtime quarterback said his coach isn't the only one at fault for the disastrous season.
"I don't want anybody to get fired," Manning said. "When a coach gets fired, it's usually because the team, the players and myself haven't performed up to our duties. I don't want to see that. So I hope there is no truth to it."
Manning has a full no-trade clause, while his contract has another two seasons with a combined $22 million in base salary remaining.
