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Eli Manning's tenure as quarterback of the New York Giants officially came to a close last season when the two-time Super Bowl champion announced his retirement following a 16-year career in blue. That absence away from the team may only last one season, however. According to longtime Giants scribe Gary Myers, Manning told him that he stopped by the Giants offices last week, almost exactly a full calendar year removed from when he officially announced his retirement. Along with saying hello to trainers, video people, and equipment staff, Manning visited with owner John Mara and expressed an interest to return to the club. 

Before you break out your No. 10 jerseys, however, this is not Manning coming out of retirement to step back onto the field for the G-Men. This request to return to the Giants is in the form of a new role that they two are going to carve out. Myers' best guess is some form of mentor to players. By the looks of things, Manning could be taking an ambassador-type role with the organization that could spread across the business side of the team along with a touch of influence on the football side from a player mentor role. 

This isn't exactly a brand new development as Mara was pretty open around the time of Manning's retirement that he would welcome the Giants legend into the organization in some capacity. Manning himself also acknowledged that was a possibility at his retirement press conference. 

"I think that would be something I would be interested in," Manning said back on Jan. 24 of 2020. "I've just got to, you know, have to discuss that and talk to Mr. Mara and see in what ways, and I've got to think about in what way. I think, you know, again, I'll take some time and just figure out, you know, how I want to spend these next years. But this organization, as I said, so many close friends within the organization, and not just the former teammates, but people in all departments of the organization. The faces, they don't change. People don't leave here because of all the wonderful people and the way the organization is run, and they take care of the people here. You do have so many great people that I'd love to be around and be around the people that I call my friends." 

Now that Manning has a year of retirement under his belt, it appears like he'll soon be ready to tackle the next chapter of his NFL story and, of course, it'll be under Giants banners.