Watch CBS News

Steve Grogan: Peyton Manning 'Should Be Out There' If Doctors Give OK

BOSTON (CBS) -- In his 16-year career with the Patriots, Steve Grogan was as tough as they come. He played through so many injuries as the team's quarterback that it's hard to keep track of them all.

One that is well-documented, though, is his neck injury. Grogan suffered two ruptured discs in his neck, which he played through for more than a full season, according to The Boston Globe.

So while no two neck injuries are the same, the now-58-year-old does offer a unique perspective on the prospect of Peyton Manning returning to professional football in 2012, after undergoing several neck surgeries of his own.

Grogan expressed no regret for continuing to play after the neck injury.

"I saw four doctors, and three of the four told me that I would be perfectly safe going out on the football field," Grogan said Thursday at the Legends Lunch at Morton's, put on by 98.5 The Sports Hub to benefit The Genesis Fund. "Because of the majority telling me I would be safe, I played another two years. And I'm glad I did."

Regarding what Manning should do, Grogan said it will ultimately be a risk-reward decision for Manning.

"Peyton Manning is in a similar situation and I'm assuming he's going to listen to more than one doctor," Grogan said. "He's such a  great competitor, I'm sure he still wants to play. As long as he wants to play and the doctors tell him he's healthy, then I think he should be out there.

"There's a little difference between him and me. I didn't make the kind of money he made and I was just trying to scratch by a couple of more years of paychecks because I knew I couldn't make that kind of money doing something else. In his case, I think he's pretty much well set, it's just a matter of whether he wants to continue to compete or not, and it looks like he does."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.