Peyton Manning may not have considered where to resume his Hall of Fame career, but there will be no shortage of offers for the 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback considered to be the most high-profile free agent in NFL history.
The Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs are among the teams widely reported to have interest in the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The Indianapolis Colts, who own the top pick in next month’s draft, where quarterback Andrew Luck is pegged as the top choice, cut Manning, who missed all of last season after neck surgery, rather than pay him a US$28 million bonus.
Photo: Reuters
“I haven’t thought yet about where I’ll play,” Manning said at an emotional news conference on Wednesday in Indianapolis. “But I have thought a lot about where I’ve been.”
With the Colts rebuilding after a 2-14 season in Manning’s absence, the future Hall of Famer is now focusing on returning to top form and entertaining offers in what could become the NFL’s most competitive free-agent chase.
Cleared by doctors to resume his career, Manning has been working hard to get back in shape, but will have to prove he is a worthy risk for a team to take.
Manning, who turns 36 this month, thinks he is.
“I’m throwing it pretty well,” Manning said. “Nobody loves playing quarterback more than I do. I still want to play.”
Teams will want to see his medical records, talk to his doctors, have their own physicians check him out and put him through throwing drills to see if he still has the tools that made him one of the game’s top quarterbacks.
Manning may have to settle for an incentive-laden deal.
Former Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer said whatever team lands Manning could get something extra special.
“It’s hard to have a chip on your shoulder when you’re a Hall of Fame quarterback and made more money than a lot of corporations,” Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, said on ESPN radio. “This will develop a chip on Peyton Manning’s shoulder. The team that gets him is going to get a very motivated Peyton Manning.”
The general manager who drafted Manning as the top pick of the 1998 NFL draft said he could fit any team’s offense.
“No one studies football as much as Peyton Manning. He’s the ultimate expert,” former Colts general manager and executive vice president Bill Polian told ESPN. “He knows the rudiments of virtually every offense there is. He spends time in the off-season studying offenses that are a little bit different than ours and he picks the brains of coaches he’s had in the Pro Bowl.”
Tony Dungy, who coached Manning when the quarterback claimed Super Bowl MVP honors in the 2007 victory over the Chicago Bears, said Manning wants to be comfortable with his new team.
“When I talked to him, I don’t think it’s [just] winning a Super Bowl. I know he wants to do that and wants an opportunity to win one, but I think it’s more being comfortable in the right place,” Dungy said. “He compared it to when he was choosing colleges. This is the first time that he really gets to choose — the offense, the team, the players around, where they’re headed, the coaching staff.”
Dungy said he did not think Manning would mind sharing the New York stage with younger brother Eli — who plays for the New York Giants — should he be pursued by the Jets, but had doubts about whether the free agent would choose Washington.
“He never said this, but my thinking is it would be tough for him to be in the NFC East and compete against [Eli] twice a year and potentially knock Eli out of the playoffs,” Dungy told ESPN radio. “I think that would be hard, just from knowing the two guys.”
Manning’s favorite receiver in Indianapolis, Reggie Wayne, said he would love to join forces with the quarterback in Miami.
“I could see it,” Wayne, who could become a free agent next week, told former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin of WQAM radio in Miami. “I would love it. I would definitely love it. I am totally available. My phone is working.”
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