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Reggie Wayne Discusses Shoving Peyton Manning After Loss vs. Jaguars
May 6, 2020
Former Indianapolis Colts All-Pro wide receiver Reggie Wayne caught passes from future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning for the majority of his NFL career.
And for the most part, it was great. Wayne led the league with 1,510 yards in 2007. Four of Manning's five career NFL MVP awards came during their time together. The Colts won Super Bowl XLI to cap off the 2006 campaign.
But there was one game in Jacksonville during the early 2000s that caused Wayne to shove Manning, the 41-year-old revealed for the first time during his I AM ATHLETE podcast with fellow former players Brandon Marshall, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder:
Wayne said, in part:
"It was New Orleans on New Orleans right here because Peyton's [also] from New Orleans. So, I push Peyton on the sideline. A lot of people don't even know that. ... To the point to where you got Brandon Stokley, Jeff Saturday, Tarik Glenn, everybody. Edgerrin [James] just looking over there smiling with them gold teeth. Marvin Harrison sitting up there like, he's shaking his head.
"That day, it was funny. I push Peyton, they separated us, we lose the game. The next morning, me, Peyton and Coach [Tony] Dungy, we talked about it. It was over with. Whatever, whatever, right? ... Peyton, he had his moments, but I think it was ... to inspire the people who were not, like, starters."
Wayne also joked that was Manning's "last time" coming at him like that.
The Colts selected Manning No. 1 overall in 1998. The 44-year-old's tenure in Indy ended when he signed with the Denver Broncos in March 2012 after missing all of 2011 with a complicated neck injury. He played four seasons for Denver, retiring after the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 in February 2016.
Wayne played his entire career with the Colts, who took him 30th overall in the 2001 draft. The University of Miami product recorded 14,345 yards—ranked 10th among receivers all time—and 82 touchdowns before retiring in January 2016.
Manning was inducted into the Colts Ring of Honor in 2017, and Wayne followed in 2018.