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INDIANAPOLIS -- The Peyton Manning era in Indianapolis is expected to
end Wednesday, according to a report.
Citing anonymous sources, ESPN reported Tuesday that the Colts plan to
hold a news conference to announce the long-expected decision. Manning
and team owner Jim Irsay are expected to attend, the network said.
Colts spokesman Avis Roper said he could not confirm the decision -- or
that a news conference would be held Wednesday -- because Irsay was out
of town and could not be reached for comment. Neither Irsay nor
Manning's agent, Tom Condon, responded immediately to messages left by
The Associated Press.
Manning has said in the past that all he wanted to do was finish his
career in a Colts uniform, but an injured neck forced him to miss all
of the 2011 season.
"I can't tell you what an honor it is to go start-to-finish with the
same organization here in Indianapolis. That is something I have
always wanted to do as a rookie coming out," Manning said after
signing a five-year, $90 million contract in July. "Of course, you
never know if that is possible, but after yesterday it is official
that I will be an Indianapolis Colt for my entire career. I will not
play for another team. My last down of football will be with the
Colts, which means a great deal to me."
But things have changed since last summer. Now it looks like the NFL's
only four-time MVP, and a former Super Bowl champion, won't be wearing
No. 18 for Indy.
With a $28 million bonus payment due Thursday to Manning, his neck
problems, and the fact that the Colts own the No. 1 pick in April's
draft, the Colts seem to have deemed it too risky -- and too pricey --
to keep the longtime franchise quarterback, who will turn 36 later
this month.
The twists and turns of a public debate between Manning and Irsay, who
have been friends for more than a decade, created the sense the two
had been fighting. Irsay twice issued statements to deny a rift.
Still, with the Colts in full rebuilding mode, Irsay has been expected
by many to play for the future and let Manning try to chase a second
Super Bowl ring somewhere else.
The Colts are expected to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with
the first pick in April's draft.
Manning's impending departure marks the end of a remarkably successful
era that included the 2006 league title.
He started every meaningful game for 13 seasons in Indy, 227 straight
including the playoffs, and took the Colts from perennial also-ran to
one of the NFL's model franchises.
In the two decades pre-dating his arrival, the Colts won 116 games,
one division title and made the playoffs three times. With Manning
taking snaps, the Colts have won 150 games, eight division titles, two
AFC championships and the franchise's first Super Bowl since moving
from Baltimore in 1984.
In 2009, the star QB had the Colts on the cusp of history with a 14-0 start.
It's been mostly bad news ever since. The Colts pulled their starters
against the New York Jets and lost the final two games that season.
Indy then wound up losing to New Orleans in the Super Bowl. During the
offseason, Manning had the first of his neck surgeries.
Then, after making an early playoff exit in the 2010 season, Manning
underwent another neck surgery to repair a damaged nerve that was
causing weakness in his throwing arm.
But when the nerve did not heal as quickly as anticipated, Manning had
two vertebrae fused together in September, a surgery that forced him
to miss the first game of his career. There are still questions about
how strong Manning's arm is.
Yet he has repeatedly insisted he plans to play football again next season.
"My plan hasn't changed," Manning said during Super Bowl week. "I'm on
track with what the doctors have told me to do, and I'm doing that.
I'm rehabbing hard."
The question is where might Manning land if he is no longer a Colt.
Arizona, Miami, Tennessee and the New York Jets have all been rumored
as possible spots, and Manning's former longtime offensive
coordinator, Tom Moore, did work with the Jets as a consultant less
season.
It's still possible, however unlikely, that Manning could return to
Indy for a lower price if he can prove he's healthy.
"This isn't an ankle, it isn't a shoulder. Often times the NFL is
criticized for putting someone out there at risk, and I'm not going to
do that," Irsay said in January. "I think he and I just need to see
where his health is because this isn't about money or anything else.
It's about his life and his long-term health."