Those who were prepared to begin Peyton Manning’s retirement ceremony may be a little premature.
According to Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, Manning’s arm strength has improved.
“He’s smiling. I feel like he’s good. I don’t know with the arm strength because I know I haven’t caught a lot. I don’t know if you all are going to believe what I say, but I think it’s a little more zip on it,” Thomas said after practice Thursday. “I don’t know how he can do that. He’s an older guy—one of the oldest guys on the team—but I feel like every year around this time, there’s almost more zip on his ball. You can notice it. He threw a couple posts today, probably 50, 60 yards, and I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s making me excited.”
This is big — and good — news for the Broncos. Manning’s arm strength clearly diminished last season. He had consecutive weeks late in the season when he didn’t even throw for 200 yards. He went from posting monster numbers to only throwing for three touchdowns and six interceptions over the final four games of the regular season. All that had people making fun of his weak arm and left the Broncos reportedly trying to trade him over the offseason.
Was Manning’s dropoff due to a severe quad injury that went unreported? Perhaps. Whatever the case, the Broncos are probably thrilled about this development and hope it carries over to the season.
