The Future of Peyton Manning

The Future of Peyton Manning

Zach Goodman, Spear Contributor

When Super Bowl 50 concluded with gold confetti raining onto the heads of all the Broncos players, one of those champions stood out above the rest. Although the defense had an unbelievable game, the person who stood out the most was Peyton Manning because of the questions regarding his future.

Peyton overall played an average game in the Super Bowl. He threw for just 141 yards and 13 completions on 23 attempts. He didn’t record a touchdown and was intercepted once, and he didn’t play a big role in Denver’s 24-10 victory. The defense scored on a fumble recovery and set up the CJ Anderson 1 yard touchdown run by another forced fumble returned to Carolina’s 5. Peyton didn’t contribute as much as he had in previous Super Bowl appearances.

Peyton’s play wasn’t why his name was in headlines though. Peyton, aka “The Sheriff,” was heard informing New England Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick that, “This might be my last rodeo.” Questions started to conquer Peyton’s Super Bowl interviews. After the Broncos win, he was called up to stage and presented the Lombardi trophy. He was then asked if he was going to retire. He responded by saying that his former coach on the Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy, gave him the advice to not make an emotional decision regarding his career in the future. Then later that night, Peyton’s father, Archie Manning, stated that, “Peyton is done in Denver.” He did not however say that he was done playing all together.

If Peyton continues to play, what city will he call his new home? The Los Angeles Rams have showed interest in Manning. I think that the “City of Angels” would make a great fit for Manning. In a situation, in Denver,  where Peyton had to play in an offense where he didn’t get to call the plays on his own, he would receive that opportunity again with the Rams. With a young offense, including star running back Todd Gurley and speedster Tavon Austin, Peyton would be able to run an effective offense like he used to in his early years in Denver and his long tenure in Indianapolis. I also believe that he would be able to play better because he would be in more humidity and not at such a high altitude like he played in in Denver. The Rams defense is good enough to lead the Rams to the playoffs. They beat the dangerous Seattle Seahawks in both of the games they played them, without an effective offense. With the man who knows the game better than anyone else in the world behind center, the Rams could bring the playoffs to their new home in Los Angeles.

So where will Manning end up, if anywhere at all? Peyton could end his career the same way the Broncos General Manager and Denver hero John Elway did by retiring after winning his second super bowl. That decision is what most experts believe Manning will do. He could also go play for another team. I think the Rams are a good fit. I believe his decision will come down to this, does Peyton think he can still compete at the top level. His love and appreciation for the game is one of the greatest of all time. All of this comes spiraling to this question, should Peyton Manning continue to play or ride into the sunset?