"Peyton effing Manning" leaves newcomers star-struck with surprise appearance at Broncos' camp

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The usual company was in attendance as the Broncos opened training camp Saturday morning.

The defense showed up in their traditional white practice jerseys, the offense in orange. Vance Joseph, unsurprisingly, wore a blue Nike long-sleeve tee and a Broncos cap. 3,417 fans packed the hill at the west end of the facility, getting their first look at starting quarterback Case Keenum.

Von Miller was the last player onto the field, bounding out of the locker room just before team stretches to the loudest applause of the day.

John Elway watched most of the practice from his balcony above the team’s offices.

But one face at UCHealth Training Center—or maybe three—showed up unexpectedly.

Peyton Manning, along with his twin 7-year-olds Marshall and Mosley, spent their Saturday morning on the sideline between the Broncos’ two primary practice fields.

Many current Broncos have played with or against Manning in the past and are used to the circus that follows him wherever he goes. But some of the younger players didn’t adjust to the presence of a future Hall-of-Famer right away. Fifth overall pick Bradley Chubb was too nervous to even introduce himself.

“I was kind of star-struck,” rookie pass rusher Chubb said. “I was telling Shaq [Barrett], ‘That’s Peyton Manning,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah, I know.’”

Courtland Sutton, the Broncos’ second-round draft pick, met Manning during OTAs.

“He came up to me and was like, ‘Peyton Manning,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re the sheriff,’” Sutton said. “And I said, ‘I’m Courtland Sutton, it’s nice to meet you.’”

He didn’t talk to Manning, though.

“I’m just enjoying his greatness.”

While the rookies gawked at Peyton, some of the veterans were more interested in Marshall and Mosley. When asked about Peyton’s presence at practice, Miller spoke first about how excited he was to see kids.

“Those guys are getting big,” he said. “They look just like Peyton, by the way.”

But the twins weren’t big enough to stop Demaryius Thomas from running over to the sideline near the end of practice to pick Marshall up, spin him in the air above his head and set him back down again, before doing the same with Mosley.

Manning still lives near Denver and occasionally makes the short trip to the Broncos’ compound at Dove Valley. He doesn’t give any hands-on help to the players—like DeMarcus Ware does in his role as a part-time pass rush consultant—but after practice, he spoke briefly with Keenum, who said that they’d been in touch over the summer.

“We just chatted,” Keenum said. “He’s a good guy, man. It’s awesome to have one of the best, if not the best, that’s ever played the game out here just watching practice. [He’s] just down the street. It’s great to have a guy like that around.”

John Elway came down from his perch to greet Manning, and Broncos all-time leading receiver Rod Smith chatted him up for a few minutes as well. The feeling of practice changed as soon as he arrived.

“Whenever he comes out, it’s always a great vibe,” Miller said. “He brings energy to the team. He meant so much to this organization and who we are today. To have him back out there, it was great.”

To say that Manning brings energy to the team is an understatement, and second-year tight end Jake Butt wasn’t surprised that Manning stole the show.

“Peyton is the man around here,” he said. “If he wants to drop back and throw a pass, maybe go ahead and let him. I’d like to catch a ball from him.”

Butt will have to wait to catch a pass from the NFL’s all-time passing leader, but another young player got his chance on Saturday. After practice, second-year safety Jamal Carter tweeted that he threw a ball to Manning during practice and told him to throw it back. It worked.

“I always wanted to catch a pass from a?!” He said.

All eyes were on Manning during the Broncos’ first practice of 2018, despite the fact that the team was debuting a new starting quarterback and a few rookies who could change the face of the franchise.

But that’s about what Zach Kerr expected.

“I don’t think it’s amazing or all that crazy, because, you know, it’s Peyton,” he said. “It’s Peyton effing Manning.”