Peyton Manning Going to Tennessee Titans?
Owner Bud Adams: 'Manning is the man I want'
The Tennessee Titans are throwing their hat into the ring of those competing to entice four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning into joining their team.
Since being let go by the Indianapolis Colts and entering free agency, Manning has been courted by many teams. He has visited with the Arizona Cardinals, the Denver Broncos, and is scheduled to meet with the Miami Dolphins soon. But he may be adding a stop in Tennessee, if Titans owner Bud Adams has any say in the matter.
Adams wants the all-star quarterback on his team, and claims he'll pull out all the stops to get what he wants.
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"[Manning] is the man I want. Period. And the people that work for me understand that. They know who I want. I want Mr. Manning with the Titans and I will be disappointed if it doesn't happen," Adams told the Tennessean earlier this week.
Peyton Manning threw for the University of Tennessee in his college days, so perhaps his familiarity and fondness for the state will play in Adams' favor.
Up until the billionaire owner's announcement it seemed that the Titans were all set with the quarterbacks they had. In fact, as recently as last week, Titans general manager Ruston Webster said as much. Matt Hasselbeck has completed just one season of his three-year contract with the Titans. Additionally, in the 2011 draft, Tennessee used its first round pick and chose quarterback Jake Locker as the eighth overall pick.
But that does not seem to be an issue for Bud Adams.
"I want Manning. I'd love to see him in Titan blue after watching him so many years with the Colts. ... I want him. I am ready to do what it takes to get him aboard, and I think he'd be the guy to get us into the playoffs," the Titan owner told the Tennessean.
The Titans have not seen playoff action since 2008, and even that action was unsatisfying. They were ousted after just one game. They fell to the same fate in 2007, and before that the Titans had not been to the playoffs since 2004.
