Peyton Manning went to Brandon Aiyuk for the absence of the season premiere of ManningCast. During coverage of the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets, the Hall of Fame quarterback spoke out about Aiyuk after he dropped a touchdown pass in the second quarter. Manning also criticized his former teammate James of Edgerrin for persevering when they were with the Indianapolis Colts.
“Get signed, get to training camp. There’s a reason for training camp. You need it, we need the reps,” Manning said of Aiyuk. “Get the contracts done early so you can get to training camp. We’re not dropping anything on opening night.”
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Manning later spoke about a similar situation when he played with James in 2004. “I mean, he’s going to be good, but like I said, there’s a reason we have to be in training camp. That’s important to me,” he said. “I remember the ’04 game. We had some turnovers in that game…anyway…I’m over that game. 2004. I’m over it. It’s been 20 years.”
Eli Manning covered the game with Peyton Manning and responded, “Doesn’t look like you’re over it. It seems like you’re still angry about it. Did anybody hold out? Who held out?”
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Peyton said, “Well, Edgerrin held on. Edgerrin held on. And he lost the ball. Look, Edgerrin is the best running back I’ve ever played with, but when you miss training camp, you notice. That makes a difference.”
James played with Manning from 1999 to 2005 and became one of the NFL’s best running backs. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1999 after rushing for 1,533 yards and 13 touchdowns and catching 62 passes for 586 yards and four touchdowns. In his seven seasons with the Colts, James had five seasons with at least 1,200 yards. And in those five seasons, the Miami Hurricanes alum rushed for at least 1,500 yards in four of them. James’ performance played a big role in Manning winning the MVP award in 2003 and 2004.
Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension with the 49ers on August 30. He was almost traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the 49ers negotiated a new contract with him. Aiyuk was selected by the 49ers with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and was named to the All-Pro Second Team in 2023 after catching 77 passes for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns.
