RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Miami Dolphins are out of the chase for Peyton Manning, and the quarterback planned to work out Friday for the Denver Broncos, people familiar with the negotiations said.
A person confirmed to The Associated Press that Manning phoned the Dolphins on Thursday to advise them he’ll sign elsewhere, and the team will turn its attention to free agent quarterback Matt Flynn.
Another person told the AP Manning was to work out at Duke for the Broncos.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the workouts have remained private and the Dolphins haven’t talked publicly about negotiations.
Early Friday morning, Broncos executive John Elway was seen at the Centennial, Colo., airport. The same plane that picked up Manning for a session with Denver last week was en route to the Raleigh-Durham area, where Manning has been rehabilitating from neck surgeries.
Duke coach and longtime Manning friend David Cutcliffe told The Tennessean that Manning has made good progress throwing the football.
Along with the Broncos, the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals remain in contention for Manning.
But not the Dolphins, who met with the four-time NFL MVP for several hours Monday in Indianapolis and made signing him their top offseason priority. Instead the Dolphins will court Flynn, who visited the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday.
Flynn was the backup last year for Green Bay and has a good relationship with new Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin, the Packers’ offensive coordinator the past five seasons.
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AP Sports Writers Steve Wine in Miami and Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.
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