Though the race isn’t over, two teams are at the front of the pack.
Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN report that the Broncos and the Cardinals currently are regarded as the favorites to land Peyton Manning.
One source told Schefter and Mortensen (simultaneously, possibly), that Peyton is leaning toward Denver.
But the Cardinals apparently have a chance, too. Scheftersen (it’s just easier that way) report that owner Michael Bidwill is “determined” to sign Manning.
So what will decide this one? Manning, per Scheftersen, is looking for a “comfortable football and organizational fit.”
It’s hard not to regard this report as a deliberate message from the Manning camp to the rest of the league that Manning is closing in on a decision, and that anyone else who wants a shot at him had better step it up.
The goal also may be to let Dolphins owner Stephen Ross know that, as Manning prepares to head from Arizona back to Miami, Ross had better bring a bigger checkbook if he wants Manning to feel sufficiently “comfortable.”