Even though Peyton Manning enters this season at the ripe age of 38 he doesn’t see himself retiring anytime soon.
The Broncos QB was extremely candid about his future in the NFL and with the Denver Broncos.
‘Sometimes I sort of kick back and I pause and I think what sorts of things would I miss the most if I wasn’t playing,” Manning said.
”Being in the huddle,” Manning said. ”That’s what I missed most when I was injured, I’ll say that. I mean, there’s no other type of unity or bond that I think any other job can provide. I know there are meetings, there are video conferences. But that huddle, because of where it takes place: it’s often on the road, in the middle of the field, in front of 80,000 people, it’s unique.”
”When you don’t play football anymore, you can broadcast, you can coach, you can be in management, whatever, but you are not allowed to go into the huddle anymore,” Manning said. ”That huddle is just for players. You can go into the locker room after the game and you can speak to the team, but I think any retired player would probably tell you they miss the huddle.’
”And I like going into that huddle,” Manning said. ”I like the guys that I get to work with. I like lifting weights, working with Wes Welker, doing a set of bench press with Jacob Tamme, I like working with the guys that I play with and I still like learning. I like being challenged by Adam every day to be a better football player. There are a lot of things that I still enjoy about it.
”And I look forward to driving over here every day. I think as soon as you go, ‘Golly, I do not want to go over there today,’ that’s when you’ve got to get out.”
Manning had the best season of his Hall of Fame caliber career last year and it is hard to imagine him walking away when he has a great shot at winning Super Bowls every year with this Broncos team.