The Lead
In the five years since Peyton Manning retired, "The Sheriff" could only watch from afar as several of his NFL records fell to his younger colleagues.
One that proved more difficult to match, though, was the history he made as the first quarterback to lead two different franchises to victory in the Super Bowl.
After Super Bowl LV, Manning now has company in Tom Brady, who led the Buccaneers to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. As Tampa Bay quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen (who also worked with Manning for about a decade as part of the Colts' coaching staff) recently told CBS Sports Radio’s The Zach Gelb Show, Brady looked at Manning's accomplishments in Denver as a model for what he wanted to achieve in Tampa.
"He said one of the things that looked really fun and challenging to him is what Peyton did in Denver," Christensen said. "There was something about that challenge that hit [Brady] right. 'Hey, I'm going to go see if I can do this again somewhere else.'"
During Manning's two AFC Championship victories with the Broncos over the Patriots, Brady was able to get a glimpse of what he could accomplish in his career's second act after departing his longtime team.
Perhaps it's only fitting that Manning, who called Brady his "favorite rival" during a 2019 episode of "Peyton's Places," has company for this part of football history, too.
Below the Fold
As the Broncos prepare to reshape their roster in free agency and the Draft, one position group that appears to need few personnel changes is the wide receiver corps, as NFL Network analytics expert Cynthia Frelund writes. "With Courtland Sutton set to return from injury after missing most of 2020, this position group is in good shape to set their QB up for passing success — whoever that ends up being."
