Reports: Peyton Manning On Jets' Radar; Unnamed Player Calls For Signing
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Is New York big enough for two Mannings?
It's official, Peyton Manning and the Colts will part ways after 14 years. According to multiple reports, the Jets will do their due diligence on the soon-to-be free agent.
There have been "serious internal discussions" about Manning within the Jets organization, reported the New York Daily News. The New York Post said Gang Green will "definitely will explore the possibility" of signing the longtime Colts quarterback.
And interest, though reportedly mixed, seems to extend beyond the Jets' front office.
"I want him in New York," one unnamed Jets player told the Daily News. "He needs to be a Jet."
Manning's former offensive coordinator coach in Indianapolis, Tom Moore, served as a consultant for Rex Ryan & Co. last season.
His younger brother, Eli, just won his second Super Bowl for the Giants. Despite Peyton's four NFL MVP awards and 11 Pro-Bowl selections, he's one championship behind in the Manning family trophy case.
Manish Mehta of the Daily News released a report in January which quoted several anonymous Jets, unhappy with quarterback Mark Sanchez, calling for the team to push for Manning.
"We already have his coach — Tom Moore," an unnamed player told Mehta. "He will get his playmakers the ball. We can win a Super Bowl with Peyton."
"If you have a chance to get a healthy 36-year-old Peyton Manning and you don't do it, then you're stupid," another source said. "If I could get a healthy 36-year-old Peyton Manning, then, hell yeah, I would trade Sanchez."
Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC championship game his first two years. He regressed in his third season, leading general manager Mike Tannenbaum to admit the young quarterback needs to be more consistent.
He set a career-high with 26 touchdown passes, but nearly half of Sanchez's 18 interceptions came in the last three games.
"Our position as a whole at quarterback, I think, has a reasonable chance to look different by opening day," Tannenbaum told WFAN's Boomer & Carton last week.
Selected first overall by the Colts in the 1998 NFL draft, Manning has amassed 54,828 yards and 399 touchdowns over a 14-year career.
Manning, who turns 36 on March 24, missed the entire 2011 season after multiple surgeries on his neck.
"I haven't thought about where I'll play," Manning said Wednesday. "But I've thought about where I've been — and I've truly been blessed."
Should the Jets push for Peyton? Make your case in the comments below...
