Eli Manning doesn’t want to be a backup quarterback next season

Winning Super Bowls is fun.

Creating memories with your teammates is fun.

Not so much fun? At least that’s what 16-year veteran and two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning is thinking from his seat as a backup quarterback.

Manning has been a fixture with the Giants for more than a decade and a half. But for the better part of this season, he served as backup to rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.

Asked if he would consider coming back in the same role for the team next season, Manning thought for a moment before smiling and giving his response.

“I doubt it,” he said Monday, the day after the Giants’ season-ending loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “Backing up’s not real fun.”

Manning started the first two games this season before losing his job to Jones. He got two more starts earlier this month while Jones recovered from an ankle injury. The second of those games, most likely his final start at MetLife Stadium, was a 36-20 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

That was one of only four wins for the Giants this year. Second-year coach Pat Shurmur was fired earlier on Monday following the team’s third straight losing season.

Manning said Monday that he’s made no decisions about his future. But, he said, “I think I can still play.”

The one thing that seems certain is that his time with the Giants has come to an end. Manning spoke as if that was the case Monday.

“It’s tough to kinda know how you’re gonna feel on this day,” he said. “I think it takes a little time for it to kinda truly sink in. I have so many fond memories. I think that’s the great thing about football is that you can reflect on the good things, you can choose what to remember, what to forget. I’m going to choose to remember the wins and the fellowship here with my teammates and coaches from this past season and the 16 seasons prior. Too many great memories and laughs and wins and celebrations to worry about at the end of the tough times.”