Dwight Freeney said he thought a "million" times about sacking Peyton Manning when he signed with the San Diego Chargers in 2013.
Unfortunately, injuries sidelined the pass rusher all three times the Chargers faced Manning and the Denver Broncos last season. The 13-year veteran is itching to finally get after his former Indianapolis Colts teammate and drag him to the ground for the first time Thursday night.
"It should be good," Freeney said Wednesday, per U-T San Diego. "Hopefully, I get an opportunity to go hit him. But you never know. He obviously knows that I'm around. He's not going to sit there and let me do anything."
Freeney said Manning was like a "big brother" to him during their 10 years together in Indy, but added that he wouldn't text the Broncos' quarterback this week ahead of their first on-field faceoff.
"He's a guy I'm going to try to hit a few times, so I don't know how that text conversation is going to go," Freeney said, laughing.
As NFL Media's Mike Mayock said in his "Mayock Slant" segment on NFL NOW, the Chargers getting to Manning with just their front four key if San Diego is to pull off the road upset for the second consecutive season.
The knee injury has severely limited Freeney the past three weeks as his play has noticeably fell off from earlier this season. The veteran hopes that the chance to rip his former teammate in half will offer enough adrenaline to overcome the injury on a short week. The Chargers need it.
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