Why, Even After Firing Polians, Colts Will Still Aim to Keep Peyton Manning

With the firing of vice chairman Bill Polian and general manager Chris Polian yesterday, the Indianapolis Colts are clearly looking to start a new chapter with their franchise. But just because the Polians are gone doesn't mean the new regime should look to part ways with four-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning and start from scratch.

Yes, the Colts "earned" the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft with a 2-14 season, and yes, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is the best player available this year. But the smart business decision for Indianapolis would be to trade that pick if Manning is healthy.

The Colts were exposed this season as having a woefully thin roster on both sides of the ball. The team could use serious upgrades to both lines and the secondary. Drafting Luck would be adding to a position of strength if Manning is healthy. 

And don't try to sell me this "Manning and Luck can co-exist" junk. Forget whether or not they could co-exist and look at it financially. The Colts would be committing far too much money to one position if they had both players on the roster.

The smart thing to do would be to keep Manning and start a bidding war for the chance to select Luck. There are plenty of quarterback-needy teams out there, and the top pick this year could be considered the most valuable in the history of the NFL draft.

The Colts could conceivably bring back a king's ransom of picks and players in exchange for Luck and thus be able to plug more holes and fill out the roster with some youth and depth. 

Logically, Indianapolis has to retain Manning and trade the top pick if it wants to be competitive any time in the near future. If they draft Luck and don't have the ability to surround him with talent, things could be messy for a few years.

Keeping Manning is the way to go.