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Peyton Manning was the centerpiece of the Colts franchise during the 2000s. His best season with the team came in 2004, when he threw for 4,557 yards, 49 touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions.
However, in 2012, another similar talent fell to the Colts, a 6"4' Stanford product that had NFL coaches and fans raving. This was none other than Andrew Luck. With Manning coming off a career-threatening neck injury, the Colts decided it was time to part ways with their superstar quarterback and move forward with Luck onboard.
Manning signed with the Broncos in 2012 and got his redemption by guiding the side to a victory in Super Bowl 50. But according to NFL insider Zak Keefer, the five-time MVP never wanted to leave Indy in the first place.
Speaking to The Athletic, Keefer said:
"He initially pleaded with Jim Irsay (Colts owner), suggesting that if the Colts were set on drafting Andrew Luck, that he, Peyton Manning, franchise legend, would stay and mentor him for a few years."
Keefer said that Irsay made the call to let the franchise legend walk amid concerns over whether he would ever be the same player he was pre-injury.
"Irsay knew — he couldn’t sit Luck behind Peyton, who no one, at that point, knew if he’d ever be the same player again.”
Peyton Manning's Denver comeback was the ultimate redemption tale
After being released by the Colts, Peyton Manning had a point to prove. After joining the Broncos, the quarterback rediscovered his best form and guided the franchise to Super Bowl XLVIII. He won his fifth MVP award that season, but was unable to lead the Broncos past the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
But Manning showed that he still had some more gas left in the tank. In 2015, the quarterback came out on top in Super Bowl 50, where he ultimately signed off on a legendary NFL career.
Peyton Manning will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. The five-time regular-season MVP entered the league as one of the most hyped prospects of his time, having been drafted first overall in the 1998 NFL draft.
The quarterback would go on to set multiple franchise records during his time in Indianapolis as the starting quarterback. He even guided them to their second-ever Super Bowl in 2007. The Tennessee product was brought in to deliver silverware and he did so in emphatic fashion, breaking the franchise's nearly four-decade-long title drought.
