A report Sunday from Chris Mortensen of ESPN makes it more likely that Eli Manning will return for a 14th season as New York Giants’ quarterback in 2018. Mortensen reported that GM Dave Gettleman “reaffirmed his desire” for Manning to be the team’s quarterback next season when the GM and QB met recently.

Gettleman had first expressed that in his introductory press conference, saying “if what I saw (against) Philadelphia was not a mirage, and I don’t believe it was, then we’ll just keep moving.”

Mortensen added that Gettleman told Manning that the Giants “will evaluate quarterbacks in the 2018 NFL draft class.”

Mortensen said that didn’t bother Manning, who “reaffirmed his desire to remain in New York and had no trepidation about a potential successor being part of the quarterback mix.”

Per Mortensen, presumptive Giants’ head coach Pat Shurmur is on board with keeping Manning behind center.

Valentine’s View

Here at Big Blue View, we have been saying for weeks now that Manning more than likely was going to be the Giants’ quarterback in 2018. This doesn’t make that a 100 percent guarantee, but it is trending in that direction. Financially, nothing else makes sense. As long as Gettleman and Shurmur still believe in Manning’s ability, competitively nothing else makes sense, either.

I still believe there is a really good chance the Giants take a quarterback with the second overall pick. If, once their study is complete, they have a clear favorite and he is there at No. 2 there is nothing wrong with that.

This news might embolden the Saquon Barkley fan club. In the “don’t take a QB at No. 2” scenario, though, I would favor trading down and adding picks to help address the offensive line, linebacker and other areas.