Peyton Manning: Broncos, Titans or 49ers?
(CBS/AP) Is it finally down to Denver, San Francisco and Tennessee in the Peyton Manning sweepstakes?
After a marathon meeting with the Titans, Denver Broncos executive John Elway and coach John Fox traveled to North Carolina on Friday to watch Manning work out at Duke.
The Broncos officials landed at Raleigh-Durham airport about 1:15 p.m. EDT and got into a white van near the plane. They arrived at Duke about 30 minutes later and drove through a gate outside the football team's practice facilities.Manning, the top free agent of the offseason, has not signed with a new team since being released March 7 by the Indianapolis Colts.
Meanwhile, Manning worked out for 49ers' coach Jim Harbaugh on Tuesday night at Duke, ESPN reported.The other two teams believed to be in the running for Manning - Arizona and Miami - are apparently out of the picture. The Cardinals will pay quarterback Kevin Kolb his $7 million roster bonus, effectively ending their pursuit of the prized free agent. As for Miami, NFL.com's Jeff Darlington reports that Manning personally called the Dolphins on Thursday to inform them that he won't be taking a job in Miami.
No one knows if a "mystery" team is in the hunt as well.
Duke coach and longtime Manning friend David Cutcliffe tells The Tennessean that Manning has made good progress throwing the football. Earlier this month, Manning's former teammate Brandon Stokley echoed that sentiment.
"I saw him for three days at Duke and he was the only quarterback (throwing to four or five receivers)," Stokley told the Denver Post. "He threw a ton of balls for three straight practices and the guy looked to me like he did when I was there six years ago."
