Yet the team is still being cautious about his status for Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders.Manning is listed as questionable and coach Tom Coughlin said it will more than likely be a game-time decision whether he will play.
"If the medical people think he can play, then he will play," Coughlin said. "We'll evaluate him every day. I know he wants to play in the worst way, but we're not going to go against the medical people. We're not going to pencil him in and say he's playing."
Coughlin said that he was "encouraged" by the way Manning looked at practice.
"He did fine," Coughlin said. "You want someone who can make the exchanges on handoffs and drop back to plant and throw. He did all of that. He'll get some treatment, both here and at home and we'll see how he is (Saturday) when he comes in. If he makes some progress, then I see no reason as to why he won't play."
At the start of Friday's practice, Manning did the regular calisthenics with the team and at one point was leading sprints, causing one coach to yell, "That a way, Eli."
Although Manning seemed to run a little gingerly, he did the regular stretching and squatting with no problem.
When practice began, reserve David Carr took the first five snaps with the starting unit, but was quickly replaced by Manning, giving all indications Manning would be ready to start Sunday. Manning has made 82 consecutive starts.
