Patriots Denied Peyton Manning Access To Interview Mac Jones Before Bills Game
BOSTON (CBS) -- Peyton Manning has been retired for six years, but Bill Belichick is still doing what he can to shut down the Hall of Fame quarterback.
Manning -- who does a conversational alternative broadcast for some Monday night games with his brother, Eli -- revealed during this week's Patriots-Bills game that the Patriots didn't let him interview rookie QB Mac Jones in advance of the game.
"I tried to talk to Mac Jones, and he was very respectful," Manning said. "He said, 'Peyton, I want to do it, but can you call our PR director, Stacey [James], because he kind of has to oversee all things?' I said no problem."
Manning said that James was professional, but ultimately, he didn't land his interview.
"I gotta tell you, I appreciate how they're handling Mac Jones. They are trying to protect him, get him as few off-the-field distractions as possible, let him concentrate on football," Manning said. "So yes, I did get denied. It was the first quarterback I haven't talked to, but I appreciate it."
Manning said that former Colts GM Bill Polian "did the same thing" with him during his rookie year in Indianapolis.
On Tuesday afternoon, during his weekly radio interview on WEEI, Jones was asked about the decision made by the powers that be to deny the interview request from Manning.
"I texted him or whatever. I am not going to get into any details, but I think we were just focused on the game," Jones said. "The Patriots do a great job of just helping me stay focused on what I need to stay focused on. I [was] always like that in college, too."
Jones ended up throwing only three passes total in the Patriots' 14-10 win in windy Buffalo, so an interview with the young QB wouldn't have yielded too much in the way of useful information for Manning during his alternate broadcast on Monday night.