When Peyton Manning became a free agent in 2012, the Broncos weren’t his only suitors. In addition to Denver, Manning’s list of possible landing spots included the Titans, Seahawks and Redskins, among others.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll flew to Denver to try to meet with Manning but the quarterback told him he wasn’t interested. Another coach, Mike Shanahan, did meet with Manning — but both parties had decided to go in different directions.
Manning presumably didn’t want to face his brother, Eli, in the NFC East and Washington traded up for the No. 2 pick in the draft that spring (they later used it to select quarterback Robert Griffin III).
“Peyton would have been a great coup for us,” Shanahan said in a recent interview with Chris Russell of Redskins Report. Even after the trade had been agreed to, Manning still met with Shanahan in Denver.
“It was evident to Peyton that we were going to make that pick [a quarterback],” Shanahan told Russell. “I asked him to stop by the house just to talk football for a few hours.”
Thankfully for the Broncos, Manning ended up signing with Denver and he helped the team reach two Super Bowls in four years. After winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season, Manning retired in 2016.
