The Rosenfels, Manning connection

What do Sage Rosenfels and Peyton Manning have in connection? A jersey number and an affinity for the name Peyton, although both of those are coincidence, Rosenfels said.

Sage Rosenfels is happy to know that he won’t be facing the Indianapolis Colts over the next three years unless the teams happen to meet in a Super Bowl. Of his four career losses as a starter, three of them have come at the hands of the Colts and their star quarterback Peyton Manning.

Some may believe that Rosenfels has an admiration for Manning that goes beyond football. He has always worn No. 18 (the same number Manning wears with the Colts) and named his only son Peyton. But Rosenfels was quick to point out Friday that those similarities are just coincidences.

“My wife and I went through some names and threw them in a hat to see which ones we wanted to go with,” Rosenfels said. “She really liked the name Peyton. I asked if her she preferred ‘Payton’ with an ‘a’ or ‘Peyton’ with an ‘e’ and she really liked the one with an ‘e.’ I’ve been asked that question a lot because I’ve worn the number 18 my whole career. I was No. 18 in college and Peyton (Manning) was No. 16 in college. Sometimes it’s a little scary about the similarities, but it wasn’t by design.”

Although unintended, Rosenfels said that the respect he has for Manning makes it so it doesn’t bother him if people make the mistake in thinking he named his son after the Colts star. As he sees it, things could be much worse.

“I’m proud to say that Peyton Manning is one of the best guys in the NFL, so if people want to make that comparison, that’s fine with me,” Rosenfels said. “At least he wasn’t named after somebody who has been arrested or in a lot of trouble.”

He added that such speculation is fodder for fans and media types. He doesn’t think Manning is aware that Rosenfels’ son shares his first name.

“I don’t think he knows about it,” Rosenfels said with a laugh. “I don’t think he’s looked at my bio page before we played a game.

SATURDAY NOTES

If Rosenfels wants to continue wearing No. 18 with the Vikings, it may be a problem. Why? Sidney Rice already has that number. Rosenfels didn’t speculate Friday as to whether there may be a cash offer to Rice to change jersey numbers or if Rosenfels will switch to a different number with the purple.

Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is expected to visit the Vikings today. He spent Friday meeting with the Seattle Seahawks, but has indicated the Bengals, the team with which he played his entire career, are still in the mix for potentially re-signing him.

John Stinchcomb, an offensive tackle rumored to be of interest to the Vikings, signed with the Saints Friday.

Trades are becoming more the rage in the NFL these days, enjoying a resurgence in recent years after being all but nonexistent earlier in the decade. Not only did the Vikings acquire Rosenfels Friday in a trade, but the Browns traded disgruntled tight end Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft and a fifth-rounder in 2010. Then on Saturday, the Chiefs traded a second-round pick to the New England Patriots for Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel.

Fan shouldn’t read too much into the $100 million contract Albert Haynesworth signed with the Redskins in the early hours of free agency. The contract contains a poison pill that will require Washington to pay him $29 million in salary and bonuses in 2013 – the fifth year of the deal. With nobody expecting the Redskins to take that kind of financial hit, his contract is more likely a four-year, $48 million deal with a whopping $41 million of that guaranteed.