He won’t let his inner feelings surface, not yet. Kerry Collins knows the Giants are hot-and-heavy in their quest to land a new quarterback in Saturday’s NFL Draft.
He’s heard how his team is brainstorming to get up to No. 1 and grab Eli Manning. He knows if the Giants sit tight with the fourth overall pick, they’ll almost definitely take Ben Roethlisberger.
Collins understands the Giants are looking to replace him. He won’t lash out.
Not yet.
“If it happens, it’s gonna come out, don’t worry about it,” Collins said yesterday at Giants Stadium, alluding to his emotions and thoughts. “We’ll have plenty to talk about.”
It’s a wait-and-see existence for Collins, who has strong support within his locker room but obviously not upstairs. It’s fairly obvious new coach Tom Coughlin isn’t sold on Collins and GM Ernie Accorsi, who viewed Collins as a potential savior when he signed him in 1999, is thinking about the legacy of the franchise.
As cool as they come as far as appearing unaffected by outside stimuli, Collins last week said he wouldn’t even watch the draft. He’s changed his tune.
“I said all along I’m not gonna watch,” Collins said. “I’ll watch, because I think the drama is just gonna be too good. It’s like ‘The Bachelor.’ I was like, ‘I’m not gonna watch’ and it came on and I’m like, ‘I got to watch this, this is too good.’ “
The Giants early in the process contacted the Chargers about trading up to land Manning. Now that Archie Manning, Eli’s dad, has stated he’s told the Chargers not to take his son, the plot thickens and enhances the Giants’ chances to make a deal.
Archie and Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, both want Eli to end up with the Giants. A sticking point might be the inclusion of the Giants’ second-round pick in this draft, a selection the Giants desperately want to keep.
Reports continue to swirl. Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer yesterday said he expects his team to keep the top pick and could take Manning. Eli, meanwhile, is prepared to sit out the 2004 season if the Chargers select him.
Another report stated the Chargers informed the Giants they will not make a deal. A Giants source said that is “totally untrue.” There’s speculation San Diego wants the Giants’ first- and second-round picks this year, plus a player, or the Giants’ first and third-round picks this year and two high picks in 2005.
Chargers spokesman Bill Johnston refuted claims it was San Diego GM A.J. Smith who spilled the beans that Archie Manning doesn’t want his son to play for the Chargers. “We did not leak this story,” Johnston said. “It’s not in our best interests to have this come out.”
If Manning becomes a Giant, keeping Collins on the roster would be difficult for financial reasons – he’ll make $7 million this season and count nearly $9 million on the salary cap – as the Giants will have to fork over in excess of $15 million for Manning’s signing bonus.
As Collins worked out alongside his teammates, he garnered support in every corner of the room.
“He’s a great quarterback . . . I wouldn’t want anybody else on my team except for Kerry,” guard Rich Seubert said.
“Great, great quarterback, you give him time to throw, he’ll put it right where it needs to be,” said tight end Jeremy Shockey.
The kind words mean nothing as far as saving his job, but Collins said he appreciated hearing them nonetheless.
“They see me as a reliable quarterback who gives them a chance to win on Sunday,” Collins said. “I don’t know why you need to ask for more.”
As for his predicament, Collins concluded, “This is a great game and a [lousy] business.”
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I won’t go!
Eli Manning wouldn’t be the first pro player to influence where he started his playing career. Here’s a list of some others who spurned undesirable teams and wound up elsewhere:
League + Year + Player + Picked By
NFL + 1979 + Tom Cousineau + Bills, No. 1
Played in Canada, traded to Browns in 1982 for two first-round picks
*
NFL + 1983 + John Elway + Colts, No. 1
Traded to Broncos for Mark Herrmann, Chris Hinton and first-round pick in 1984
*
NFL + 1986 + Bo Jackson + Bucs, No. 1
Played baseball for Royals, drafted by Raiders in 1987 (No. 183)
*
NFL + 1991 + Raghib Ismail + Raiders, No. 100
Had signed in Canada, joined Raiders in 1993
*
NHL + 1991 + Eric Lindros + Nordiques, No. 1
Traded to Flyers for Peter Forsberg, five others, two picks, $15 million
*
MLB + 1992 + Derek Jeter + Yankees, No. 6
Letter of intent to University of Michigan caused teams to pass
*
MLB + 1997 + J.D. Drew + Phillies, No. 2
Went to Northern League, drafted next year by Cardinals No. 7
*
NBA + 1999 + Steve Francis + Grizzlies, No. 2
Traded to Rockets in three-way deal with Magic
