UMBC Football 327: Peyton Manning: The Man, The Myth, The... Free Agent?

Rumors surrounding Peyton Manning, the current QB for the Indianapolis Colts, have been circulating since the dreaded lockout this past summer. While players and coaches were meeting to make sure another NFL season would happen, Peyton was attempting to recover from neck surgery without the help of the Colt’s personal trainers. The lockout was eventually ended as the season start approached. Manning was ruled out from the season opener and had another surgery soon after. That was when the world realized that Peyton was in fact human and waited with held breath to hear when he would make his return to the Colts. The world is still waiting.

With the NFL Combine over all the teams have gotten a good look at potential draftees, especially important for the Colts who hold the Drafts #1 pick. It is widely predicted that the Colts will use that pick on Andrew Luck, a QB out of Stanford. This is a big deal. Drafting a QB this high in the draft means that the team not only needs the player, but that he is going to be their starter. This regularly would be no big deal, if say your team was the Redskins. But this is Peyton Manning we are talking about. He is a Super Bowl MVP, 4 time NFL MVP, 11 time Pro Bowl nominee, and holds countless records (1). And he is potentially being replaced by a unproven rookie.

But making more news than Peyton potentially being let go from the Colts, his only team since drafted in 1998 (2), is who would be interested in giving him a chance to play again. Multiple teams have been attached to rumors of being interested in giving Manning a shot. The Jets, Dolphins, Redskins, Chiefs, Cardinals, Seahawks, and 49ers have all been in one way or another mentioned in ties to Manning rumors. Though, the most likely landing places for Manning would be with the Redskins, Dolphins, or Seahawks (which seems to be universally agreed upon) as none of these teams have any confidence in their current QBs (Rex Grossman/John Beck, Chad Henne, and Tavaris Jackson respectively) (3 & 4).

As it stands right now though, Peyton Manning is still a Colt and Jim Irsay will have you know it. It has become very much a PR battle between Peyton and Irsay, with both sides trying to look like the good guy. Time is running out though, as the Colts owe Peyton $28 million on March 8^th. The general consensus is that the Colts will let Manning go before that bonus is due. What’s worse is that Irsay has said that Manning’s return to the Colts is dependent on his health (5).While Peyton has been cleared medically (6), the coaching staff cannot view Peyton throwing before his bonus is due (6). This leaves a $28 million risk in the hands of the Colts. Do you risk it and keep a QB who was one of the greats and hope he returns to greatness? Or do you save your money and invest in Luck and a new era in Indy?

Regardless of what happens in the coming week, Peyton WILL make headlines. It is my personal opinion that Peyton Manning will not be wearing his #18 in a Colts jersey in 2012, and most of the evidence seems to point that way. We all wait with baited breath to see what happens to the legendary Peyton Manning.