Young or old, peewee or professional, it means something. You get that uniform, it means you are on the team.
Davis Webb is part of the team, of course, but he has never worn a Giants uniform in a regular-season game. Fifteen games up, 15 games down and it has always been team-issued sideline garb for Webb. On Sunday, Webb finally gets a uniform, as he will be active for the first time this season as the backup quarterback to starter Eli Manning.
“I am excited about that,’’ Webb said Wednesday. “It’s never easy to work so hard and then at the last second they say ‘You’re not gonna get a jersey this week.’ That’s been kinda up and down. So I’m excited about that.’’
The promotion comes with no time to spare, with the Giants closing out their miserable season against the Redskins at MetLife Stadium. Geno Smith will be one of the Giants’ seven inactive players, a designation Webb held every game, until this one.
“There’s no guarantees that we will get him in the game, but he will be the No. 2 on Sunday,’’ interim coach Steve Spagnuolo said.
This is a long-awaited move by the Giants. Webb, a rookie third-round pick, received his only work on game-days two hours before kickoff, engaging in an elaborate pre-game throwing session with practice squad receivers. Smith was the backup quarterback for the first 11 games before he shockingly was vaulted into the starting role after Manning balked at former head coach Ben McAdoo’s plan to start the veteran in Oakland but replace him at halftime with Smith.
After one start and loss by Smith, McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese on Dec. 4 were fired, Spagnuolo was named the interim head coach and Manning was reinstated as the starting quarterback. Webb’s workload in practice increased the past two weeks — he was given snaps with the starting offense — and is now next in line should anything happen to Manning or the game gets out of hand.
“We’re going to go in the game to beat the Washington Redskins with Eli Manning and we’ll just take it from there,’’ Spagnuolo said.
Webb, 22, has been a tireless worker, arriving early, staying late, racing Manning across the field (Webb always wins) as the offense moves from one drill to another.
“I think I’m doing just about everything I can do to be ready but you never know until you play,’’ Webb said.
This is the plan the Giants put in place as soon as Webb was drafted. He would spend his rookie year as a redshirt, learning from Manning, as the Giants felt Webb needed time to acclimate to the NFL game, coming from college systems at Texas Tech and California.
“Since the moment I got here we had a plan going in and I’ve kinda followed that plan and worked really hard at it,’’ he said. “Haven’t asked any questions, haven’t complained about it, just worked hard.
“The New York Giants and everybody in the organization were pretty blatantly obvious with me what my preparation, what my goals, what my season was going to look like. I said ‘OK, let’s do it. I’m gonna work really hard and we’ll see what happens and try to get better and be the best quarterback I can be. I think I’ve done that thus far and I’m excited where I am today.’’
There is uncertainty with everything as the Giants (2-13) have already set a record for most losses in a season in franchise history. Manning could return or leave, Webb could be the backup or compete for a starting job, a marquee rookie quarterback acquired with the No. 2 or No. 3 pick in the NFL draft could be on the scene. Webb will likely go into the offseason with no snaps as a rookie.
“It’s not easy, I’m not going to lie to you,’’ Webb said. “It’s not easy, I’m such a competitive human being. I take it pretty seriously.’’
