After 18 seasons, 5 head coaches, 5 MVPs, 4 Super Bowl Appearances, 2 Super Bowl wins, including in his final game, Peyton Manning has decided to retire from the NFL. Manning has many NFL records and accolades to his name, but his most important contribution to the game was the way he helped revolutionize the passing game and showed that the no-huddle offense could be used in any situation, not only when a team is attempting to make a comeback. Tom Moore, the Colts offensive coordinator, and Peyton Manning developed a system to where Manning could run a no huddle the whole game, and make every check at the line to ensure everyone on his team was on the same page. Manning took his same philosophies to Denver in 2012, leading the Broncos to 4 years of success that the Mile High City hadn’t seen since John Elway retired.

Back in 1998, the Indianapolis Colts founds themselves with the 1st overall pick after a disastrous 3-13 season with a choice to make at the top of the 1998 NFL Draft: Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf. Leaf appeared to be the prospect with the higher ceiling at the time, but Manning was seen as a surer bet. When interview time came for both Manning and Leaf, the words they spoke in those interview rooms changed the course of history for 2 NFL franchises: the Colts and the Chargers (who held the 2nd overall pick that year). When the Colts asked Leaf what he would do if he was picked first overall, he was honest and said he would go to Las Vegas to party with his friends, Manning of course said he would be in the playbook right away. There was one other thing Manning said to Bill Polian, the Colts GM at the time, that almost certainly made the choice for the Colts “I would like to play for you but if you don’t pick me, I will kick your butt for the next 15 years”. Come draft time, the Colts take Peyton Manning, who would go on to set all kinds of rookie records, including passing yards, touchdowns, and interceptions.

Manning would win his first MVP (co-MVP with Steve McNair) award after the 2003 season, a year where he had a perfect passer rating against the Saints, led a 21 point comeback in the last 4 minutes of the Colts game against the defending Super Bowl Champion Buccaneers to win in overtime 38-35. He would finish the season with over 4,200 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, leading the Colts to the playoffs after winning 12 regular season games, starting a streak of 7 straight 12 win seasons. His second MVP would come just a year after, when Manning would break all kinds of records. Manning threw for 4,557 yards, a then-record 49 touchdowns, and a then-record passer rating of 121.1 for the season, once again, the colts would win 12 games that season and win their division. In 2005, the Colts would win their first 13 games in a row, and after a loss to the Chargers, coach Tony Dungy mostly rested his starters en route to another playoff appearance.

2006 saw mounting pressure on Manning to win a Super Bowl, as he was entering his 9th season, and had been regarded as among the best quarterbacks in the league, but the Dan Marino comparisons were continuing, and wouldn’t stop until Peyton hoisted the Lombardi trophy. The Colts would finish 12-4 again, for the third time in 4 years (they went 14-2 in 2005), but the emergence of the defense come playoff time finally gave Manning a complete team around him. The pieces were always there, but they never quite came together in the playoffs before this year, the return of safety Bob Sanders proved to be the linchpin of a defense that had finished 32nd in rushing defense in the regular season (Sanders only appeared in 4 regular season games). In the AFC Title game, Manning met the one team that had proven to be his kryptonite in the playoffs: Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. This game started about as poorly as you could imagine for the Colts, as they trailed 21-3 in the second quarter, and 21-6 at halftime. No team had ever overcome an 18 point deficit in a championship game. The Colts would go on to score 32 points in the second half to New England’s 13. The Colts last score to take the lead left Brady and the Pats around 1:00 on the clock, something Brady had proven he was more than capable of winning in these situations. At the 44 yard line of the Colts, Brady dropped back, looked, threw to Ben Watson… Interception, Marlon Jackson, Colts win, Colts are going to their first Superbowl in the Manning-Dungy Era. Colts would go on to win, in the rain of Miami over the Chicago Bears, 29-17. No more Marino comparisons, Manning was now a Super Bowl champion.

Unfortunately, the Colts could not recapture that same spark in the playoffs in 2007 or 2008, but in 2009, the Colts were able to make it back to the big game against the Saints. In this span of time, Manning was able to capture his 100th win, and surpassed 40,000 passing yards in his career. Unfortunately, the Colts were unable to capture their second title in the Manning Era, which would have been the first for Jim Caldwell. Come 2010, a season in which Manning’s Colts would finish with a 10-6 record, and a postseason berth, leading his team to their 9th consecutive playoff berth, which would end in a 1 point loss to the New York Jets, which no one at the time would have expected to be Manning’s final game as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

2011 saw Manning get the Franchise Tag from the Colts, then later that year, he would sign a 5 year, $90 Million contract extension, however, Manning would not take a snap that season, as he had 4 separate neck surgeries, leaving many questions of whether or now he would ever play again. The Colts would finish 2-14 without Peyton, opening the door for them to draft Andrew Luck, Quarterback from Stanford. Manning was released just 1 year into his contract.

For the first time as an NFL player, Manning experienced the Free Agency Frenzy. As expected, he was among the most sought after free agents that year, but eventually, Manning chose to sign with John Elway and his Denver Broncos. Manning signed a 5 year contract worth $96 Million to join a team fresh off a playoff appearance with Tim Tebow as a quarterback. When Manning signed, he was originally going to wear number 16, his number at Tennessee because the number 18 was retired for Frank Tripucka, but Tripucka gave Manning permission to wear number 18 with the Broncos.

The 2012 Season started slowly for the Broncos, as Denver would lose 3 of their first 5 games, however, they would turn it around and win their last 11 games of the regular season before falling in double overtime to the Ravens in the divisional round. This season resulted in Manning winning Comeback Player of the Year, an amazing turnaround considering he was looking at a potentially career ending injury just a season before. It’s even more amazing that he would throw 37 touchdowns that season. Despite the disappointing end to the season, Denver was building something special on offense.

2013 showed Peyton Manning was seemingly at the height of his powers, from the start of the season against the Ravens, where Manning tied the NFL record for touchdown passes in a single game with 7, all the way to the end of a 13-3 season that ended in a Super Bowl appearance, but not before setting the singe season passing yardage and touchdowns record with a massive 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. The Broncos would set the single season scoring record in 2013, besting the offense of the 2007 Patriots undefeated season. Unfortunately, the defense was only average, 19th to be exact, and that proved to be a fatal flaw in the Super Bowl against Seattle. 2014 saw a vast improvement of the defense, up to third in the league, but an injury to Manning late in the season proved to be more serious than it initially appeared, leading to speculation that Manning was in decline, especially after a loss to the Colts in the playoffs.

Manning’s struggles would not end in 2014 however, as once the 2015 season started, it appeared that Manning had declined quite a bit, only throwing for 9 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. This year was different though: where Manning was struggling, his defense and special teams lifted him and his teammates up, leading them to start the season 7-2, before a loss at Kansas City where Manning left the game, and ultimately the lineup for 6 of the last 7 games. Plantar Fasciitis had struck down Manning, and he rehabbed, made himself as healthy as can be, then waited for his opportunity to get back on the field. Come week 17, where Brock Osweiler, Manning’s backup, was struggling to get anything going against the San Diego Chargers, despite the Chargers being the 20th rated defense in the NFL in 2015. Enter Peyton Manning, he had led many of his teams to victory in comeback situations over the years, this one was different, he was coming in fresh, off the bench, but he led his Bronco teammates to a win, and the #1 seed in the AFC.

Manning’s mind had become his greatest weapon, and the best weapon the Broncos had on offense from then on. In the Playoffs, Manning didn’t need to do anything to carry his team, he was just needed to call the right plays, get his defense a lead, and let them feast on opposing offenses. Finally, Manning didn’t have to do it alone, he finally had a great team around him to help him get to the Super Bowl. The best game of the 2015 playoffs for Manning came against a familiar face: Tom Brady and the New England Patriots once again. Looking like the Manning of old to start the game, Peyton threw for 2 touchdowns, and wound up winning the game 20-18, with the defense getting the final stop on a 2 point conversion. The Super Bowl started with a field goal for Peyton and the offense against the vaunted Panthers defense, then his defense took over. Leading the way to a 24-10 win over the heavily favored Panthers. Manning’s last game, a championship, his second win in 4 tries with 4 different head coaches. The only quarterback to win a Super Bowl with 2 different teams. Manning left the game the way a man like Peyton Manning deserves to: as a champion.

As we approach Free Agency, there is always a sense of renewed hope among all fan bases, thinking “If we just sign this guy, my team will be great next year”, we’ve all done it before, we’ll all do it again. This is the time of year where money flies around like no other! Without further adieu, here are some Free Agency fits that make sense on a few levels:

Malik Jackson, Eric Weddle and Janoris Jenkins to the Raiders:

Oakland had a terrific offense last year, but too often, they seemed let down by their defense when Khalil Mack didn’t make a play. These three pieces would provide the Raiders a pass rusher opposite of Mack, and a true #1 corner that this defense has lacked over the last few years, and a leader at safety to fill the void left by Charles Woodson. It looks like a ton of money to be throwing around to free agents, but with over $60 Million in cap room to play with this year, these three would be a major coup for General Manager Reggie McKenzie.

Bruce Irvin and Danny Trevathan to the Atlanta Falcons:

In 2014, the Atlanta Falcons were dead last on defense, in 2015, they improved to 16th in the league last season, while anything would have been an improvement, there are still many issues with the defense, as they gave up 39 total touchdowns, 20 of them were rushing touchdowns. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed as well as a pathetic pass rush (19 sacks in 16 games). Enter Irvin and Trevathan, as Irvin could help as an athletic linebacker on run downs and as a pass rusher on 3rd down, and Trevathan could assist in covering the middle of the field in a Bobby Wagner type role in Dan Quinn’s defense, Quinn coached Irvin in Seattle, and defensive coordinator Richard Smith coached Trevathan in Denver as their linebackers coach.

Jason Pierre-Paul re-signs with the Giants:

The Giants need all the help on defense that they can get, as they were among the worst in the league last year, only 2 teams gave up more points (Jaguars and Saints), and JPP needs to establish himself as a premier pass-rusher once again, so why not stick with the home he knows on a one-year “prove-it” type deal where he can showcase his ability to be an elite player despite missing part of his hand?

Alex Mack, Sean Smith, and Tamba Hali to the Jaguars

The Jaguars tried to sign Mack 2 years ago to an offer sheet, which the Cleveland Browns matched, look for these two to try to make it work once again, as the Jaguars have a need at center with Stefen Wisniewski possibly departing via Free Agency. Mack is coming off a down year, but his impact would be greatly felt along the Jags offensive line. Sean Smith and Tamba Hali could come over from the Chiefs to provide some much needed help on the defensive side, as Smith provides Gus Bradley with the tall cornerback to play the Richard Sherman role in their defense, and Hali would provide some veteran leadership along with pass rushing ability that the Jaguars desperately need.

Matt Forte to the Patriots

This has been a popular pick among many writers this offseason, and for good reason: Bill Belichick loves smart football players who do their job and do their job well to boot. Forte is a perfect fit for the Pats despite the presence of Dion Lewis, as Forte is an older back, who should be splitting the load with another runner or two anyway, and Lewis has not proven to be durable thus far in his career. Forte has expressed his desire to join a championship caliber organization, and the Pats could use one of the most complete backs in the league over the last few years.

Marvin Jones and Lamar Miller to the Browns

Jones is currently the best receiver on the market this offseason, and Lamar Miller is an explosive player out of the backfield when he actually gets the ball in his hands, both of these players could be maximized by former Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. Jackson and Jones were together in Cincinnati, and could look for a reunion in Cleveland, and Miller is looking for a gig to be a #1 running back somewhere, the Browns do currently employ Isaiah Crowell, but he is best served as a rotational power back, while Miller can carry the bulk of the load.

Brock Osweiler re-signs with the Broncos

The Broncos already have offered Osweiler a contract extension, reportedly worth $45 Million over 3 years, other teams will probably have a chance to at least talk to the Broncos QB before he responds with any kind of counter-offer, another team may offer Brock more money, but the Broncos would probably match it to keep him for the foreseeable future. The 3 year deal is a good one for both sides: Denver retains a quarterback who played well in spurts over 7 starts this season, and Brock can become a free agent again when he’s entering his prime at 28 years old.

Do you agree with my analysis? What are some of your Free Agency predictions? Leave them in the comment section below to discuss!