St. Louis Rams Free Agency: Peyton Manning Not Wanting Redskins Could Help Rams

According to Chris Russell of ESPN 980 of Washington on ESPN's SportsCenter as reported by Rotoworld, the Peyton Manning camp has made it clear that they are not interested in playing for the Washington Redskins.  

If indeed true, this could have a significant impact upon the St. Louis Rams No. 2 pick and the Robert Griffin III sweepstakes.

The above-linked report would seem to legitimize the assertion of NFL Hall of Fame running back and NFL Network contributor Marshall Faulk, who stated that Manning will not play for an NFC team, and thus, would not play for the Redskins, as reported in this column for ESPN. 

According to this piece from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Washington has been the front-runner for a trade with the Rams and their highly-coveted No. 2 pick.  

If Manning is not interested in the Redskins, that clearly brings RG3 back into play for Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and head coach Mike Shanahan.

For St. Louis, a no-go for the Redskins on Manning would most likely result in a continued interest from the Redskins in regard to a pursuit of Griffin III and the betterment of a bidding war for the No. 2 pick. 

In a best case scenario for St. Louis, a team would land Manning that has zero interest in the Heisman trophy winning QB from Baylor. 

Adam Schefter asserts that a dozen teams have already contacted representatives for Manning to express at least some interest in the future Hall of Famer, as reported by The Miami Herald. 

It appears obvious that NFL teams are hungry to upgrade at quarterback and that has to be a positive sign for St. Louis and their shopping of the aforementioned No. 2 pick.

As many of you know, Rich Eisen of the NFL Network shared his view that St. Louis will ask for three first-round picks in exchange for the in-demand No. 2 pick:

"Rich Eisen‏ @richeisen 

Just had chat with Rams GM Les Snead. Sure sounded like he wants 3 first-rounders for #2 pick. Podcast will post later iTunes/NFL.com.

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It will be interesting to see how it all plays out but one thing is certain: If Washington is not an option for Manning, it certainly looks to be beneficial to the cause of St. Louis and the optimized value of the No. 2 overall pick.  

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.

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