It's not often that you see an active NFL player rip another organization, but that's exactly what Philip Rivers did on Wednesday after he was asked to give his thoughts on the benching of Eli Manning.
Although the two quarterbacks play on opposite coasts, their careers will forever be intertwined thanks to the 2004 NFL Draft. Thirteen years ago, the Giants selected Rivers with the fourth overall pick and then held on to the quarterback until they were able to trade him to the Chargers in exchange for Manning, who had been selected No. 1 overall by San Diego.
Since then, Rivers and Manning have been two of the most durable quarterbacks in NFL history. When Manning's streak of 210 consecutive starts ends on Sunday, it will be Rivers who will take the lead as the active quarterback with the most consecutive starts (187).
When Rivers started talking about the Manning situation Wednesday, you could tell it really irked him. The Chargers quarterback rarely minces words and he definitely didn't hold back when he started talking about Manning's benching.
"I honestly thought it was pathetic, really," Rivers said, via the team's official Twitter account. "He's been out there 210 straight games with no telling how many bumps and bruises and injuries for his team, won two Super Bowls, [two Super Bowl] MVPs."
If Rivers was the coach of the Giants, he would've at least let Manning finish out the regular season as the team's starting quarterback.
"The respect he's had in the locker room, really, the respect he's gained throughout the league," Rivers said. "You just feel like the guy has earned the opportunity, if they are deciding in fact to go in the other direction, you feel like he's earned the opportunity to finish it off, finish off these last five weeks."
Although Rivers said he's not "close buddies" with Manning, he did say that it was "tough" to watch the Giants quarterback get interviewed after the benching was announced.
"I just thought it was too bad the way it was handled," Rivers said. "And with Eli, we're not close buddies, but as a friend, as a fellow quarterback, it was tough to watch him [Tuesday], you can only imagine how he felt, but he handled it like a pro, like he's handled everything."
Rivers and Manning actually got a chance to speak with each other earlier this season when the Chargers beat the Giants back in Week 5. They might not be "close buddies," but you can definitely tell they respect each, which is likely a big reason why Rivers felt the need to blast the Giants for their decision.
