17 years after he was drafted into the NFL, Peyton Manning is facing decision time on whether to retire.
In the NFL, it is no secret that quarterback is the most important position on the team.
More often than not, QBs are some of the most popular players on their respective teams, and they also become some of the most talked about in the entire league as well. A select few are even recognizable by only their first name: Peyton, Eli, Ben, Cam, among others.
And just three weeks into the offseason, one of those stars is generating speculation about his future — or lack thereof — in the NFL.
Peyton Manning, a 17-year veteran, has been widely speculated about in terms of durability since 2011, a year that Manning missed entirely because of a neck injury. Peyton’s neck has been his most serious problem area in terms of injuries. Most recently, though, he had a quad injury that caused him issues at the end of last season.
This past week, Manning met with Denver Broncos management to discuss the future. According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Manning told Broncos boss John Elway and team officials this week that he’s “physically and mentally prepared to play at a significant level in 2015.” Despite the optimism, a final decision has yet to be made. But if you ask me, Manning needs to swallow his pride, hang up his cleats and retire.
Few would disagree with me when I say that Manning is a phenomenal quarterback that will likely have a bust in the Hall of Fame in Canton one day.
The list of statistical achievements for Manning is a mile long. Peyton is a Super Bowl Champion, a Super Bowl MVP, a 14-time Pro Bowl selection and a seven-time First-team All Pro.
This list does not end there — he has also amassed myriad other statistical anomalies that I don’t need to mention to further validate my point. Any way you look at it, Peyton is one of the best to ever play the quarterback position in the NFL.
With that in mind, Peyton is not the same player he once was. The soon-to-be 39-year-old is showing signs of his age.
Take the 2013 Super Bowl, for example, a game that shocked not only me, but also the world. On one the biggest stages of them all, Manning grossly underperformed. He put up just eight total points, while throwing two interceptions. The Broncos lost 43-8. The game was so surprising, the NFL even looked into allegations that the game might have been fixed.
And this past season, who could forget Mannings’s Monday Night Football performance on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, in which he threw four interceptions, compared to just two touchdowns, never finding a rhythm throughout the entire game.
Though the two games I have highlighted are atypical, they are meaningful. These games, coupled with Manning’s age and recent injury struggles, force me to see him in a new light. The player I once regarded as virtually unbeatable has now shown that he is, in fact, beatable.
There is doubt in my mind that his best and probably last chance at another Super Bowl was against Seattle in 2013, and we saw how that turned out. It was possibly one of the worst performances of Manning’s career.
In my opinion, he should retire now. Manning is the type of player for whom it’s either Super Bowl or bust. I believe his best years are behind him and he will never win another Super Bowl. Each subsequent year that Manning plays and fails to live up to these almost unrealistic expectations hurts his reputation and ultimately his legacy.
Christopher Miller is a junior studying broadcast journalism and sports management. Do you think these athletes will transfer? Let him know at cm001111@ohio.edu or @MLLRC93.
