Eli Manning Explains Why Daniel Jones Deserves A Long-Term Contract From The Giants

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This past season was very much a show-me-something year for New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, and when looking at his numbers, it's hard to say he didn't show he has what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL for years to come.

Eli Manning, who Jones took over for in New York, hopes this past season leads the former Duke quarterback to a long-term contract with the Giants.

Jones is set to become an unrestricted free agent and the Giants could either use the franchise tag on him or sign him to a new deal, which Manning believes he deserves the latter.

"I was proud of Daniel, the way he played, to learn another offense and pick it up," Manning told ESPN. "Just the way he played in the fourth quarter of a number of games and leading the team back to victory, which was awesome; that's what you want from your quarterback. To do it so quickly with the brand-new offense, the way they were able to compete, make it to the playoffs, win a playoff game, that is awesome.

"I hope he gets rewarded for that. I hope he is the quarterback for the Giants for a long time."

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Daniel Jones had by far and away his best NFL season this past year. (Getty Images)

This past season, his fourth in the league, was far and away Jones' best since being drafted sixth overall in 2019.

Jones set new career highs in completion percentage, QB rating, passing yards, and rushing yards in 2022 while scoring 22 total touchdowns and throwing just five interceptions.

While Manning's approval is one thing, Jones clearly won the hearts and minds of plenty of Giants fans who were still on the fence about whether or not he's the quarterback the franchise needs moving forward.

Joe Schoen, the Giants' general manager, hinted that Jones will be brought back next season.

"We're happy Daniel is going to be here," Schoen said. "We're happy he's going to be here. "Hopefully we can get something done with his representatives. That would be the goal to build a team around him where he could lead us to win a Super Bowl."

Jones' 67.2% completion percentage was the sixth-best mark among all quarterbacks during the regular season.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.