Peyton Manning had multiple neck surgeries and missed all of 2011 before returning to the field with the Denver Broncos in 2012. He promptly earned a 12th Pro Bowl selection after throwing for 4,659 yards and the second-most touchdowns of his NFL career (37).
Manning accomplished all of that without being 100 percent recovered from those neck surgeries.
"You know, I still have certain challenges," Manning told WATE-TV on Friday while visiting the University of Tennessee campus for an event. "When you're dealing with nerves, I've learned it's a patience deal. They kind of say it could be a year or two, or it may never come back, so I'm kind of hopeful. I kind of wish certain things would come back a little bit more, but I have learned to adjust and compensate in the state that I am. I still would like to make some more improvement. I still work at it.
"Obviously, I still can perform kind of status quo, but I still have hopes and (am) determined to try to seek some more improvement. But, yeah, I'm certainly better than I was last year. But I'm still not quite where I was before I was injured."
Notice Manning didn't detail exactly what things aren't back. Pretty slick. Either way, we all saw that "status quo" Manning still is better than just about everyone else out there. Even at 37 years old. Oh, and now he has Wes Welker running routes for him.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.