ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The benching of Eli Manning caught a lot of people in the NFL off-guard Tuesday -- including those in other locker rooms.
Manning had been the NFL’s ironman starter at quarterback, going 210 consecutive games before it’ll end Sunday with Geno Smith replacing him against the Raiders. And it’s left some people baffled.
“I could see maybe if they had drafted a backup quarterback and he was the future, you thought,” Lions receiver Golden Tate said. “But I don’t know. To me, that’s a big, big slap in the face and as far as I’m concerned, Eli, he ain’t the only reason where they are.