Peyton Manning Rumors: Colts Owner Jim Irsay Dumb to Hold onto Veteran QB

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay needs to learn when enough is enough. 

Because of the owner's uncertainty on the subject of future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, the dominant storyline heading into Super Bowl XLVI is figuring out where No. 18 will be suiting up in 2012 instead of who the next world champion will be.

Although there are plenty of realistic possibilities for the 35-year-old veteran signal caller, one destination is an obvious no-no, Indy.

It has never been more clear that Manning was the one stick of glue holding this team and franchise together for the past decade than now.

The 2-14 season without him in the lineup demonstrated that the Colts have had problems all across the board for some time now, but the brilliance of Manning's right arm and brain had caused us to glaze right over them.

Irsay taking to Twitter to dispute reports about the future of Manning looks desperate and unprofessional. Sources are contradicting themselves and in the end it only make Irsay and the Colts front office look under-qualified for the job.

Manning and his iffy neck remaining in Indiana for 2012 is a bad move. 

There comes a time when every great player must pack his bags and move on. Joe Montana and Brett Favre are just two notable legends to give it a go elsewhere at the end of their careers.

Manning was drafted No. 1 overall by the Colts in 1998 and has spent 14 seasons with the team, delivering countless MVP awards and playoff appearances, but just one Super Bowl title.

That championship came back in 2006, when Manning wasn't entering his late-30s with a surgically-repaired neck. 

Contact is a guarantee in football and Manning will be hit and sacked regardless of where he winds up. But with the prospect of picking No. 1 overall this April for the first time since they took Manning looming over his head, Irsay would be dumb to hold onto the veteran quarterback.