Peyton Manning to Arizona: A Perfect Scenario for Cardinals Fans to Ponder

With the news that the Indianapolis Colts are set to release Peyton Manning, we can officially say that he is the most highly sought-after free agent in NFL history.

Manning, who will be 36 on March 24, is the once-in-a-lifetime quarterback every team dreams of having. Now a handful of franchises will begin their official recruiting trips, phone calls and text messages to the Colts’ all-time leading passer in hopes that they might win the battle of the front offices and lure him to their city.

Let this be the start of Arizona’s recruitment of No. 18. If you are skeptical of Peyton donning a Cardinals’ jersey, hopefully by the time you’ve reached the comments section of this article you will have changed your mind.

If not, feel free to add to the comments letting us know why you disagree with what was said and we can work this out together.

As I stated in my free-agency tracker, the Cardinals do not have a deluge of funds available to them, meaning signing free agents and draft picks could get tricky.

Last week Darren Urban of azcardinals.com reported that the team could end up parting ways with left tackle Levi Brown rather than restructure his current contract. That would save them $18.225 million against the 2012 cap—a choice that is becoming clearer as the negotiations with Brown and his agent fall apart.

The quarterback position was not on the original list of needs; however, a player of Manning’s caliber doesn’t become available every year, and with the news that such a player is available, the list has been updated.

Should Manning choose Arizona as his final destination before Canton, some expensive toes will be stepped on in the process.

Current Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb cannot wait for training camp to begin so he can work with offensive coordinator Mike Miller and hash out the issues with which the unit struggled in 2011. The only problem, of course, is that if Manning shows up on the roster any time between now and March 17—the day Kolb is due his $7 million roster bonus—he may not get to camp.

Signing Manning and releasing Kolb would be the perfect situation not only for the current team in Arizona, but for future Cardinals teams as well.

With Manning and young John Skelton, Arizona would have two quarterbacks with a nearly identical physical build and quick release.

Talk about a perfect scenario.

An all-time great NFL quarterback taking under his wing his own virtual clone to mentor and teach while he leads his new team. That, ladies and gentlemen, should get you all on the couch to do a celebratory Riverdance. (Willem Dafoe will join you.)

Go ahead; I’ll wait.

OK, now that that’s out of your system I would like to chisel into stone what I just laid out so that everyone is clear on what exactly is being suggested.

First off, signing Peyton is a must. Without him, none of this is relevant. Doing so before Kolb’s roster bonus is due is also a must. Manning is willing to sign a contract that will guarantee him nothing up front and be heavily incentive-laden and performance-based.

That should be a major turn-on for Arizona's management.

Also a major turn-on would be the prospect of filling an immediate need at the wide receiver position. They may kill two birds with one stone if Manning comes to town. SI.com's Peter King reported that Colts free agent receiver Reggie Wayne may follow his long-time QB wherever he goes. A package deal that improves two major flaws from a year ago? Yes, please.

Next would be to release both Kolb and Brown, freeing up an estimated $28 million immediately. This would give the team the opportunity to fill other big needs through free agency, such as a replacement for Brown and right tackle Brandon Keith. Kolb will certainly not be happy with this, but there are enough teams in need of quarterback help that it likely would not be long before his phone took to ring.

Brown still wants wads of cash to flow from his wallet, and with his performance over the final half of 2011, he just may get his wish. Unfortunately for the continuity of the Cards’ offensive line, it may not be in Arizona.

With Brown set to be paid his own $6 million roster bonus on March 12, all of this could potentially happen within the next week.

Arizona would need a plan at the tackle position in order to get Peyton to sign with the Red Birds. Whether that is Brown or someone else, it may be the major selling-point for Manning.

Should it happen, Manning would become more than just the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals: He would be the man in charge of the future of the longest continually run professional football organization in history.

Hang on, Cards fans—things could get very interesting.