Two years ago, Peyton Manning‘s career nearly ended prematurely. Now, heading into his third Super Bowl, No. 18 doesn’t have any plans to hang up his cleats anytime soon.
Manning, 37, underwent a serious neck procedure in 2011, missing the entire season and leading to his departure from Indianapolis. He hasn’t show any lingering effects from the surgery since joining the Broncos two summers ago, which seems to have him convinced he won’t be walking away from the game anytime soon, even if he wins his second Lombardi Trophy.
“Well, I know there’s a number of players that have walked away as champions, and I’m sure that’s a great feeling for those people. John Elway, Ray Lewis did it last year, Michael Strahan,” Manning said upon arriving in New York on Sunday. “In talking to Ray Lewis and in talking to John Elway, they couldn’t play anymore. That was all they had to give. They truly left it all out there.
“I certainly had a career change two years ago with my injury, with changing teams, and so I truly have been kind of a one-year-at-a-time basis. So I really have no plans beyond this game, had no plans coming into this season beyond this year. I think that’s the healthy way to approach kind of your career at this stage.”
Manning isn’t saying how long he plans to continue playing, but he certainly doesn’t sound like he’s ready to give it up anytime soon.
“I still enjoy playing football. I feel a little better than I thought I would at this point coming off that surgery. I still enjoy the preparation part of it, the work part of it. Everybody enjoys the games, everybody’s going to be excited to play in a Super Bowl, but I think when you still enjoy the preparation and the work part of it, I think you probably still ought to be doing that.
“I think as soon as I stop enjoying it, if I can’t produce, if I can’t help the team, that’s when I’ll stop playing. If that’s next year, maybe it is. But I certainly want to continue to keep playing.”
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