With his 40th birthday arriving March 24, and fresh off leading the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl championship last month over the Carolina Panthers, Manning confirmed in a statement on the Broncos’ website Sunday that he will retire.
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“I will be forever grateful for the four seasons that Peyton and I shared together in Denver”, Osweiler told 9NEWS via text.
Manning relinquishes the game he loves secure in having left an indelible imprint on America’s most popular sport.
The only thing that matters is that Manning walked off the field that night as a champion.
Manning spent his final four seasons in Denver but the prime of his career came in 14 years at Indianapolis where he led the Colts to two Super Bowls, winning the trophy in 2006.
Completion: To Bennie Fowler for a 2-point conversion with about four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50.
But he not only came back but set the all-time National Football League records for most passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55) in a season in 2013.
The NFL is investigating allegations that human growth hormone was shipped to his home in his wife’s name following an Al Jazeera report that Manning dismissed as “garbage”.
So, defensive coordinators, you can breathe a little easier today: Manning will no longer be on the docket to wreck your game plans and ruin your designs on a title.
With the changes in rules, equipment, training, health and so many other things, it is impossible to accurately compare an old-time quarterback like Johnny Unitas to contemporary ones like Brady and Aaron Rodgers. To put yourself in a position that this late stage in his career they’ve played in two of the last three Super Bowls and won one of them.
I think it is impossible to distinguish who is the best of all time, so I attack it from the angle of which quarterback would I want to start a franchise.
Still, my top choice is the guy who probably helped convince Manning now was a good time to call it a career – Elway.
“Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more – not only for the football team but in the community”, added Elway. “He deserves it after 18 years in this league”, Elway said.
For much of his career, the knock against Elway was the same as the one against Manning – that he could not get over the hump in the big game.
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Cutcliffe was Manning’s offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee and the two have maintained a close relationship.
