GREEN BAY, Wis. — Archie Manning said his middle son, Peyton Manning, prefers to stay in Indianapolis to continue his career with the Colts, but before any decision is made he has to recover from neck surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2011 season.
“Peyton kind of likes his roots in Indy,” Archie Manning said yesterday after watching his youngest son, Eli Manning, lead the Giants to a 37-20 Divisional victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field. “We’ll see what happens there. If that doesn’t work and he can get healthy we’ll see. That’ll all work out. He’s just trying to get healthy.”
The Colts have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and speculation is they will select quarterback Andrew Luck of Stanford. It’s possible the Colts could trade Manning, and the Jets are among the teams who could be interested in acquiring the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Asked specifically whether he would like to see Peyton with the Jets, the elder Manning said, “I’m not going to get into that.”
Archie said Peyton is focused solely on his rehab.
“He’s got a great attitude,” Manning said. “He’s just fighting and scratching, trying to get healthy. We’ll see what happens.”
The Manning family patriarch took time to credit Peyton for helping Eli achieve success in the NFL. Eli will play in his second NFC Championship Game on Sunday when the Giants travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers for a trip to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
“Peyton’s been a great mentor to Eli,” Manning said. “People think I am. But Peyton’s been Eli’s best mentor.”