Eli, Giants Comfortable with Contract

With the NFL Draft less than a week away, all the talk about Philip Rivers and a potential trade to Tennessee is coming to a crescendo. But it it worth noting that Rivers is not the only quarterback from the 2004 draft class who will not sign an extension with the team that drafted him this offseason. Eli Manning enters his contract year, as well, and both he and the Giants are quite comfortable with the situation.

The plan in New York is to evaluate the organization from top to bottom after the 2015 season, when head coach Tom Coughlin enters the final year of his contract and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo has a couple seasons under his belt. It is a logical strategy for a franchise that has missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons.

For his part, Manning seems comfortable with the strategy.

“I’ve known a lot of people who have gone into their last year, my brother went into the last year of his contract twice, and that’s just part of it,” Manning said on Sunday, according to Newsday. “I look at it as, hey, I signed a six-year contract and I never once mentioned the contract to them or anything, or tried to get extended. I’m going to play out those six years and hopefully my play and the success of the team will dictate the future of me being in New York.”

The difference between Manning and Rivers, of course, is that Manning has shown no reluctance to re-sign in New York. He has brought the Giants two Super Bowl victories, which gives him an infinite amount of clout with the G-Men. However, that does not mean this arrangement comes without risk.

For Manning, the greatest risk is injury. Although he has started 167 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL, he is one serious injury away losing tens of millions on the open market. For the Giants, the risk is that Manning will have a monster season, making his price tag soar even higher by the time they sit down at the negotiating table. Given Manning’s increasing comfort in McAdoo’s offense and the emergence of WR Odell Beckham Jr., that risk looms large.

The framework for Manning’s next deal may have already been set by Ben Roethlisberger, who signed a five-year, $99 million extension back in March. However, the price of quarterbacks is only going to go up. Russell Wilson is expected to sign a massive deal later this offseason and Andrew Luck figures to become the highest paid player in NFL history at some point next offseason.

Dealing with franchise quarterbacks is expensive business. But as history has proven, operating without one is far more costly.

Vikings Officials Take Up for their Own

Before the Vikings execute their first-round pick (No. 11 overall) in this year’s draft, team officials are taking the time to defend their first-round selections from the last two drafts.

It started with GM Rick Spielman, who recently came to the defense of 2013 first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson. The speedster from Tennessee saw all of his numbers decrease across the board last season, which frustrated Vikings fans who believed he was on the verge of breaking out. Instead, Patterson struggled with the nuances of the game and tried to rely too much on his supreme athleticism.

“I think Cordarrelle has really grown up a lot,” Spielman told The Star Tribube. “I know what he has done this offseason dedicating himself to being the best receiver he can be, and how serious he is taking that, we’re very excited about the future with Cordarrelle.”

Minnesota’s faith in Patterson is a matter of debate heading into this week’s draft, with several mocks suggesting the Vikings will take a receiver at No. 11. Devante Parker, who caught passes from Teddy Bridgewater at Louisville, is a popular possibly.

Speaking of Bridgewater, offensive coordinator Norv Turner felt the need to chime in this week regarding his promising young quarterback. Turner was asked about last year’s draft, when Bridgewater fell to the bottom of the first round after having some struggles during his Pro Day. In particular, Bridgewater had a tough time throwing over brooms in a drill designed to simulate an oncoming pass rush.

Turner’s take: “Someone should take those brooms and shove them up someone’s backside.”

It’s not that Turner’s upset. Quite the contrary, as Bridgewater’s uneven Pro Day allowed the Vikings to steal him where they did. And we have no problem with Turner’s suggestion on what to do with those broom sticks. Now if it was Adrian Peterson making those comments? That would be a lot tougher to sweep under the rug.

Collins’ Stock Sinking

Cornerback Jalen Collins is seeing his draft stock plummet following reports he failed multiple drug tests at LSU. The failed tests were first reported by the NFL Network and are going public at the worst possible time.

Collins had been considered a fringe first-round pick. He is a strong cover corner with good ball skills; he finished his Tigers career with three interceptions and 19 pass breakups. He also has the speed to run with NFL receivers, as he proved at the NFL Combine by running a 4.48-second 40-yard dash.

Collins missed LSU’s recent Pro Day while recovering from minor foot surgery, but the operation is expected to sideline him less than a month. The injury concern could be easily overlooked by NFL scouts, but this latest red flag? Not so much.

While Collins will now slide, for sure, don’t expect him to fall out of the second round. His situation is similar to that of former LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who failed multiple drug tests in college before being suspended for his final season with the Tigers. That didn’t stop the Cardinals from drafting Mathieu early in the third round of the 2013 draft.

Mathieu has played well for the Cardinals since. It helps that he is sharing a secondary with another former LSU cornerback, Patrick Peterson, which made Arizona feel more comfortable making that selection. And who knows? Maybe the Cardinals will go back to the LSU well one more time, as they still need a cornerback to replace the departed Antonio Cromartie.

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