Eli Manning says the death of his former New York Giants teammate Jared Lorenzen hit him pretty hard ... saying, "I went to the funeral and I saw his parents, to see his kids, it’s just sad."
Lorenzen was Manning's backup during the 2006 NFL season, when the Giants beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Before that, they had been friends for years.
Lorenzen -- aka the Hefty Lefty -- passed away on July 3rd ... and Manning (along with NY Giants co-owner John Mara) flew to Kentucky to pay his respects to his friend at a small burial service.