In 2012, Peyton Manning chose to sign with the Denver Broncos following an illustrious career with the Indianapolis Colts. However, eight years later, it's been revealed that Manning had interest in signing with the Washington Redskins as a free agent in 2012.
Mike Shanahan was the head coach of the Redskins in 2012 and he believed they could convince Manning to sign. The retired head coach spoke to The Athletic about the possibility of inking a deal with Manning eight years ago.
“We were very much interested in Peyton at that time. I mean, I followed his career. I know him quite well, so I feel like we had an excellent chance to get him. But knowing that Eli was in the NFC East, it surely wasn’t a slam dunk.”
Instead of signing Manning, the Redskins elected to trade for the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Of course, Washington would take Robert Griffin III, the quarterback out of Baylor. As a result, Manning knew that the Redskins were no longer a potential landing spot. Said Manning,
“I had known Mike for a long time, played for him in a Pro Bowl, and we’ve stayed in touch, and so I felt comfortable talking to them. But they had made a trade for the second pick of the draft, which they ended up taking Robert Griffin III. So as soon as they made that trade, even Mike kind of knew that eliminated them. It just wasn’t going to make sense. Kind of like the Colts, they were obviously going to go with a quarterback in the first round.”
Once Washington decided to go with Griffin, Manning set his sights on joining the Broncos. Shanahan pointed out that John Elway — the general manager of the Broncos — told him that he was nervous about the Redskins luring Manning away from Denver:
“I think Peyton was disappointed. Kyle and I were kind of surprised that he still wanted to meet with us. I can remember talking with Elway one time not too long ago, a few years ago. He said, ‘Mike, do you realize that Peyton, I think, was going to go to your place? I think he really wanted to go to your place more than our place.' I said, ‘Really? I didn’t know that.' And that came from John. I knew we were fairly close.”
Fast forward to now and it's safe to say Manning made the right choice in free agency in 2012. On the other hand, it's hard not to wonder what could have been for the Redskins if they had gone with Manning over Griffin.
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