Peyton Manning at Super Bowl Opening Night(Photo: Reno Boyd, KUSA)
SAN JOSE, Calif. – So which one is it, guys?
Two months ago, there
was a national NBC report saying quarterback Peyton Manning intends to play in 2016, even if it’s for a team other than the Denver Broncos.
On Monday, the NFL Network said Manning “has told close friends he expects (Super Bowl 50) to be his last game.’’
Then again, one of those reports will be correct. Manning insists both are premature. He took issue with the latest report on his future in a private interview Monday with 9News.
“I mean, close friends that I’m supposedly telling, I’d like to meet them,” Manning said. “The close friends that I have -- and I do have close friends, but I don’t think any of them are close to anybody who works for the NFL Network.
“But no, I understand there’s great speculation … I mean it’s not exactly a bold statement. You have a 50-50 chance of being right. I’d like to see a little more aggressive prediction … At no point in this season did I ever say this is going to happen in three weeks. Or this is how it’s going to be from here on out. I said this is how it’s going to be this week.’’
Manning then presented examples.
“I’m not playing against Chicago,’’ he said, referring to the Nov. 22 game. “I’m not playing against New England. This is what I had to do. Coach Kubiak and I talked every Monday and “this is what you’ve got to do this week. We’re going to go indoor and throw, don’t go on the practice field.’
“ So that stay-in-the-moment one week at a time, whatever cliché you want to use that has served me well up until this point and that’s what I’ll continue to do this week.’’
About whether or not he will retire?
“We’ll take some time and whenever I have an answer on that and I know the answer I’ll decide,’’ he said. “But I have not made any decisions. And like I said I really want to meet these close friends.’’
(© 2016 KUSA)