Peyton Manning will be cut by the Indianapolis Colts as early as Wednesday afternoon and as unthinkable as it is, the 35-year-old quarterback will finish his storied career in another uniform.
But Manning is not alone in his experience; in fact numerous Hall-of-Fame players have played their final seasons for strange teams.
Here are 5 NFL Hall of Fame members who finished up in different threads.
This photo just isn't right. The NFL's all-time leading rusher Emmet Smith and all-time leading reciever Jerry Rice embrace in foreign colors.
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Before the myriad of legal troubles that hit O.J. in the early 1990’s, he was known only as a Hall-of-Fame running back. Simpson starred for the Buffalo Bills, becoming the first man to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season, and was second on the all-time rushing list when he retired in 1979. But he finished his career with two forgettable seasons in San Francisco.
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Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles and is the only player to win the Super Bowl MVP twice. He was selected to eight Pro Bowls and was a Six-time All-Pro. But in 1993 he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs to make way for Steve Young under center.
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Rice, the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game, and Montana’s number one target also finished his career away from the bay. After 15 seasons in Red and Gold, Rice spent two and a half seasons with the Oakland Raiders before playing his final games for the Seattle Seahawks.
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Namath will always be a New York Jet, but Broadway Joe didn’t always play in green and white. In 1977 he was signed by the Rams in an attempt to revive his career. Namath only played four games in Los Angeles before he was hurt on Monday night against Chicago and never played again.
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Smith is the NFL’s all-time sack king with 200, but he didn’t set that mark in the blue and red of the Buffalo Bills that he wore for 14 seasons. After the Bills were unwilling to meet his contract demands in 1999, the 36-year-old Smith signed with the Washington Redskins. He was a solid contributor in Washington for four more seasons, playing in 62 games and getting 29 more sacks with the Redskins.
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