Eli Manning infamously said it can always get worse earlier this season.

Guess what: It certainly did Wednesday at Giants practice in East Rutherford.

A day after benching the two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback after 210 starts, head coach Ben McAdoo managed to make the situation even more absurd by having Manning run the scout team for a portion of the session - a certain sign of things to come.

Manning, one of the most-revered players in franchise history, split reps with rookie Davis Webb running the Raiders' offensive plays against the Giants' defense ahead of Sunday's game in Oakland. New starter Geno Smith handled the first-team offensive reps in his place.

While Manning will be the backup Sunday, the Giants plan to put Webb into the mix at some point over the final five games, which could mean even more scout team work for Manning.

Again: Eli Manning. Scout team quarterback. And the Giants say they aren't tanking.

To Manning's credit, he is said to have handled the demotion with grace. The team portion of practice is not open to the media, but players said Manning ran the scout team without any fanfare, and ran it as if it was the first-team offense. It was odd to see Manning in the scout team huddle, players said, but once things began to move no one thought twice.

"He was Eli Manning," lineman Justin Pugh said. "He was so unwavering. There's was some emotion yesterday, and that's something that no human being cannot show some of that after 14 years. But today, he was back out there, a true professional doing whatever is asked for this team. That just goes to show you the type of character that he has. It's something that will always be his rock. The type of man he is."

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.