Eli Manning is the present. The anticipation is Davis Webb will be the future.
Where does that leave Geno Smith, who at 26 is too old to be the new kid on the block and too young to be an afterthought?
It leaves him in a sort of quarterback limbo, looking to resurrect an NFL career that languished with the Jets and is far from secure with the Giants.
Not long after Smith signed a one-year deal in late March — the Giants guaranteed Smith $100,000 of his $775,000 base salary — Ben McAdoo said it was not out of the question he eventually could be Manning’s successor. One month later, the Giants selected Webb in the third round of the draft, clearly hoping the tall passer from Cal (and Texas Tech) might one day replace Manning. Just like that, Smith’s long-term prognosis with the Giants got murkier.
“You don’t react,’’ Smith said last week after an Organized Team Activity practice. “I have been in situations where quarterbacks have been drafted and it happens in this league, so you just have to continue to work. We always say that the cream always rises to the top, right? So guys who aren’t afraid of competition and like to work — they usually perform when their best is needed, so I like to think that I am one of those guys.’’
Before he can look ahead at Manning or behind at Webb, Smith must look directly at Josh Johnson, his competition for a roster spot as the backup quarterback. It is a bit of a strange duel about to unfold this summer. Smith, the Jets’ second-round pick in 2013, started 29 games in his first two seasons, showing the requisite physical tools but not enough of the mental maturity and acumen needed to hold onto a starting job. Johnson, 31, is an NFL vagabond — the Giants are his seventh team since he was a 2008 fifth-round pick of the Buccaneers. He has not appeared in a regular-season game since 2013. He has not thrown a pass in a regular-season game since 2011. The Giants saw enough in him last season to re-sign him to a two-year, $1.95 million deal but, like Smith, only $100,000 is guaranteed.
“My chances are as good as anyone else’s,’’ Johnson said. “It’s about going out there and earning it and proving it on the field, and that’s all I am focusing on doing.
“I was here last year, and they wanted me to come back. I established something here last year that let them see what I can do on the field. I had an opportunity to come back and compete and earn something that was there and to me, that’s all I can ask for.’’
Johnson outlasted Ryan Nassib, the Giants’ 2013 fourth-round pick. Nassib did not develop in practice or in the preseason games as rapidly as the coaching staff or front office envisioned. Johnson should have the early advantage, given he was with the Giants in 2016 and thus knows the offensive system. Smith is not fully healthy after tearing his right ACL on Oct. 23 against the Ravens, his only start for the Jets last season. He has participated in 7-on-7 drills this spring but likely will be held out of team work until training camp.
The Giants are certainly intrigued by Smith, who fell by the wayside with the Jets, playing in only three games the past two years. They want to see how he does in McAdoo’s West Coast offense — Smith did his best work playing in Marty Mornhinweg’s version — and are eager to see what a change in scenery does to help limit the distractions around Smith, who for the first time will work behind an established player such as Manning.
“Well, being in a system that I was previously in, one that I thought was really good for me and my skillset,’’ Smith said, when asked what makes the Giants attractive to him. “Also being with coach McAdoo and all of the coaches — I really got a good vibe from the guys and being with a winning organization. All of the things that I put on the top of my list, I felt that here was the place for it.’’
RB Wayne Gallman, a fourth-round pick from Clemson, on Tuesday signed his Giants contract, a four-year deal worth $2.8 million, including a signing bonus of $419,641.
The only unsigned draft pick is TE Evan Engram, a first-rounder from Ole Miss. When Engram signs, it will be a four-year, $10.7 million deal that includes a signing bonus of $5.93 million.