The Giants are transitioning to rookie QB Daniel Jones as their starter heading into Tampa Bay for Week 3 against the Bucs. It took head coach Pat Shurmur only two games with veteran Eli Manning leading the offense to think a switch was needed, and he explained why he made the call now.

The official announcement came Tuesday via the Giants' Twitter account that Jones was being named the starter this week, and Shurmur said that it was a decision he told both parties about before getting right back to his weekly routine.

"I talked to all the parties involved yesterday morning and then I quickly got back to work," Shurmur said.

"We have a switch in roles, but it should come as no surprise to anybody that that's been a great relationship since the day we drafted Daniel."

With the Giants at 0-2 so far this season, it isn't a surprise that Shurmur began thinking about the switch to Jones. Being the quarterback of the future, the more game reps the Duke product can get, the better.

But given Manning's 16-year history under center for Big Blue, it's a very hard decision to make, and an emotional one to boot. Though he said everyone moved on with their normal duties, Shurmur said he would "keep that between me and Eli" when talking about the personal conversations.

"I think it just was my gut that it was time to make this move," Shurmur admitted. "When you draft a guy like we did, at some point this is gonna happen. I just felt like this was the time."

The deed is now done, and the Giants are entering a new era with Jones leading the way. Shurmur is confident that Jones is ready to run the entire offense as he would with Manning.

"I think it's safe to say in our minds he's checked off all the boxes in everything we've asked him to do," Shurmur said about Jones.

And Shurmur also made sure to mention "the benefit to start here 14 games" when talking about Jones, meaning the change is a permanent one as we all expected. So what does that mean for Manning?

The trade speculation has already rose back from the dead, as Manning may want to explore his options to get playing time elsewhere in the league. Shurmur believes he can still play in the NFL, but he doesn't see him leaving his quarterbacks room anytime soon -- although Manning may have hinted at otherwise.

"I don't foresee anything that would make me think he won't be here," he said.

So Manning's mentorship role is now in full effect, as Jones prepares for his first career NFL start. Shurmur is confident this was the right move to make at this point in the season, and on Sunday against the Bucs, we'll see if it's a positive step forward in this new era for the Giants.

Popular in the Community