The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Eli Manning is trying to pull a John Elway on the San Diego Chargers.

The Mississippi quarterback has let the Chargers know he doesn't want them to choose him with the No. 1 pick Saturday in the NFL draft.

He spent Thursday at an NFL luncheon with his famous relatives, father Archie, a former NFL star, and older brother Peyton, a quarterback for the Colts, skirting questions about the Chargers and what he would do if they do draft him.

"I plan to be playing football next season," Eli said. "I've talked to New York. I've talked to Oakland. I've talked to a lot of teams, and I like a lot of teams."

Manning's maneuver is similar to the one Elway pulled in 1983, when he made it known that he didn't want to play for the Baltimore Colts, who owned the No. 1 pick.

Still, the Colts took Elway, and the Stanford quarterback responded by playing minor-league baseball and threatening to stick with that sport if the Colts remained stubborn.

Eventually, Baltimore traded Elway to Denver, where he became a Hall of Famer.

"This is a bold move on the part of our family," Archie said. "But I am not bold enough to try to manipulate this draft."

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said he would do what's best for the franchise.

Archie said the decision to tell the Chargers to pass on Eli was made by his youngest son and agent Tom Condon with input from the family and others.

Archie wouldn't give specific reasons why San Diego was asked to back off.

"I don't want the Chargers to be exposed in a negative way," he said.

The Mannings were surprised and disappointed that Smith went public Wednesday with Eli's request.

"This was not the way we planned things. We didn't want this to happen," Eli said.

Condon did not return phone calls. In recent days, there was speculation he was trying to swing a trade between the Giants and Chargers.

The Chargers have missed the playoffs for the last eight seasons and are 43-85 since making their last postseason appearance in 1995.

REDSKINS: Washington filled its upcoming opening at middle linebacker by agreeing to terms with free agent Mike Barrow. He led the New York Giants in tackles each of the last three seasons but was cut last month after he refused to restructure his contract.

Barrow, 34, stands to replace Jeremiah Trotter, who was given permission to seek a trade. Trotter has been a disappointment since signing a seven-year, $36 million contract in 2002 and is expected to be cut after June 1 if he isn't traded.

PANTHERS: The team agreed to terms with Terrance Shaw, who played the past two seasons for Oakland as a reserve cornerback. Shaw, 31, had 70 tackles in 15 games in 2003.

PACKERS: Green Bay signed free agent cornerback-kick returner Chris Watson, who has 110 tackles, two interceptions and 23 passes broken up in 58 career NFL games. He has a 21.9-yard average on 97 kickoff returns.

Return to Bengals front page...