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Eli Manning turned down an unexpected request from Jaxson Dart
Eli Manning. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Eli Manning wouldn't help Giants QB Jaxson Dart with an unexpected request

New York Giants legend Eli Manning has offered to be a resource for Jaxson Dart as the young quarterback adjusts to life in the NFL, but scoring dinner reservations is not what the two-time Super Bowl champion had in mind.

Manning spoke about his relationship with Dart during the latest episode of "The Schrager Hour" podcast with ESPN's Peter Schrager, which was released on Thursday. Manning said that after Dart was drafted by the Giants, Manning told his fellow former Ole Miss star to reach out if Dart needs anything at all.

Dart took Manning up on the offer at the start of training camp. Manning, who played behind Kurt Warner as a rookie with the Giants, thought Dart might be looking to pick his brain about backing up Russell Wilson or something else related to football. Instead, Manning says Dart wanted Eli to secure him a reservation at one of the best restaurants in New York City, 4 Charles Prime Rib.

"All of a sudden it's training camp and he calls me one day and he's like, 'You got a minute?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, of course,'" Manning recalled. "It's such a similar situation we're in — bringing in a veteran like Russell Wilson, they brought in Kurt Warner (ahead of me). I was like, maybe this is dealing with that or something.

"He goes, 'Can you get me a reservation at 4 Charles tonight at 6:30?' I was like, 'No, no, no, that's not part of the deal. When I said I'm happy to help out, I'm not doing that. I'm not your reservations guy. You have to earn the right to call and get your reservation.'"

You can't fault Dart for trying. Dart probably hasn't accomplished enough with the Giants yet to secure a last-second reservation at 4 Charles Prime, but Manning is royalty in New York. As Manning said, hard-to-get dinner reservations have to be earned.

Dart saw some brief action during New York's 40-37 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but he did not attempt a pass. He is going to have to win a few games in the NFL before Manning will help him with fine dining.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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