Peyton Manning was at the campus of Duke on Friday going through what ESPN calls “an aggressive throwing session.” And now, a brief, 30-second video has emerged of Manning in a helmet and shoulder pads going through the drills, giving the public its first glimpse of Manning’s arm in action following the multiple surgeries on his neck last year.
The video is merely cell-phone camera footage, so it’s hard to get an accurate grasp as to how well Manning is actually doing. But he does at least appear to throw the ball with decent velocity and accuracy, a promising sign given the report last month that he has a “noodle arm.” One person behind the camera also comments “good ball” after one throw. The session was run by Duke head coach David Cutliffe, who was Manning’s offensive coordinator in college at Tennessee.
Previous reports indicate that Manning is steadily getting back his throwing strength as nerves in his arm continue regenerating following his most recent neck procedure in September. Archie Manning has said his son is starting to look like his old self on the football field.
“I did see him a couple of weeks ago. He was in New Orleans, and I saw him throw,” Archie said Friday. “He looked like Peyton, so as far as throwing and velocity of the ball, he looks fine.”
Based on this video, it’s hard to confirm Archie’s comments. As far as Peyton “looking like Peyton,” then yes, he is wearing a Colts jersey and helmet and throwing to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark, which is probably good enough for Indy fans for now. But the only person whose opinion matters is Jim Irsay, who has to soon decide whether to exercise the team’s $28 million option on Manning. The March 8 deadline for that decision is just days away. Tick tock, tick tock.
Props to SportsGrid for the video
