The New York Daily News reports that Eli Manning showed no limp while jogging and walking through drills at practice on Friday.
Manning, who hasn’t practiced all week, did have his injured right heel tightly wrapped under his sock and shoe, but he did not appear to be favoring it as he jogged and high-stepped through the pre-practice warmup. He also showed no ill-effects from the injury as he took part in the first-team offense’s walkthrough against the scout team. He was able to take snaps, drop back, hop in the pocket and throw with no obvious signs of pain or discomfort.
Of course, the media was positioned about 60 or so yards away from Manning, and we are only permitted to watch the first 20 or so minutes of practice. The Giants did little in that time that would truly indicate whether Manning will be able to play on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Perhaps the only hint came when he took some snaps with the first-team offense, indicating there’s at least a chance. However, it should be noted that when the walkthrough drills began, David Carr took the first snaps with the starters.
The doctors have already told Manning that he won’t hurt foot anymore by playing on it, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be affected by the injury on game day.
Carr can turn around and hand the ball to Brandon Jacobs if need be to get the Giants a win over the Raiders this Sunday. But if the Giants need him to throw the ball to win, they could be in trouble.
It’ll be interesting to see what Tom Coughlin and the Giants decide to do with Manning over the weekend. He’ll likely be a game time decision.
