Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. got a visit from one of the NFL's true greats.
Peyton Manning’s Interaction With Marvin Harrison Jr. Draws Attention originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Few people are picking the Arizona Cardinals to make the NFL playoffs, let alone win the NFC West, this season. But Marvin Harrison Jr., their talented second-year wide receiver, is facing high expectations after an uneven, but promising, rookie campaign.
His father, after all, is Marvin Harrison, the former wideout for the Indianapolis Colts back in the late 1990s and 2000s. The elder Harrison, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, made eight Pro Bowls and is widely considered to be one of the greatest ever to play his position.
His life was made much easier thanks to the fact that he spent most of his career with legendary quarterback Peyton Manning as a teammate with the Indianapolis Colts. It looks like perhaps Manning is looking to pay it forward.
'The Sheriff' made a special appearance
Manning visited the younger Harrison on Thursday while the Cardinals held a joint practice with the Denver Broncos, the team they will face in their next preseason game on Saturday. Manning not only spent time with Harrison Jr., an Ohio State Buckeyes product, but he also had a chat with Denver quarterback Bo Nix, per the Denver Post. Manning finished his career with the Broncos, leading them to a Super Bowl 50 victory.
Peyton Manning visited Marvin Harrison Jr., son of Peyton's longtime Colts teammate Marvin Harrison Sr. 🥹
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 15, 2025
(via @AZCardinals) pic.twitter.com/2HCYr0QR04
Fans on X were talking about this visit and what it could mean.
"Full circle moment right here… Peyton watching the next Harrison carry the torch is legendary, 🥹🔥" one fan wrote.
"DOPE," another fan wrote.
"Arch Manning going to Arizona confirm," one user quipped.
"The nostalgia is real! I’ll never forget watching the Colts play on NFL Sundays, watching Manning and Harrison do what they do best. Crazy to see his son now carving his own NFL legacy 🫡," a fourth fan wrote.
"Wow. So he's coaching he's son now ??" a fifth user asked.
"If he only had Manning throwing the ball to him," another fan wrote.
Manning and the elder Harrison made magic happen
Manning and Harrison played together from 1998 to 2008 and became one of the more prolific quarterback-wide receiver duos in NFL history. After years of falling short in the playoffs, the Colts finally got over the hump during the 2006 season and won the Super Bowl.
In 2002, the wideout had arguably his best individual season. He posted 11 touchdowns and a career-high 1,722 receiving yards, which led everyone, and he set a league single-season record with 143 receptions.
That record stood for many years until Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints caught 149 passes in 2019.
The elder Harrison and Manning still hold the records for the most touchdown passes (114), the most receptions (953) and the most receiving yards (12,766) as part of a quarterback-wide receiver duo.
The Cardinals are building for the future
The younger Harrison, tight end Trey McBride and running back James Conner give Arizona a terrific and underrated trio on offense. The additions of pass rusher Josh Sweat, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and defensive end Calais Campbell should give Arizona a chance to compete this season.
However, Tomlinson and Campbell are nearing the end of their careers, and Conner is 30, which is the point at which many running backs begin to decline.
The Cardinals will be looking for their youngsters to step up, and of course, they need quarterback Kyler Murray to play his best football.
In 2024, Murray played his first full season since tearing his ACL in 2022. He had previously made the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021, and last season, he posted 3,851 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 572 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football
