Peyton Manning Rumors: Indianapolis Colts Need to End the Charade and Move On

If you love him, let him go, Jim Irsay.

The latest string of Peyton Manning rumors came from Jason La Confora of the NFL Network on Friday, and it looks increasingly unlikely that Manning will be returning to the Indianapolis Colts. From NFL.com:

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"According to sources who were involved in the Colts’ GM search, the organization was planning to move on from Manning weeks ago, well before this public squabble between the quarterback and his owner,” NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora said Friday on NFL Total Access.

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Irsay, of course, denied the report via Twitter on Saturday.

This situation has become ridiculous. From Rob Lowe's retirement tweet to Irsay calling Manning a "politician" to their joint statement and now this, what was an uncomfortable situation in Indianapolis has entered Larry David levels of awkward.

For a while, I could really sympathize with Jim Irsay. He is clearly ready to rebuild this organization around Andrew Luck, dumping the Polians and his head coach, Jim Caldwell, in the process.

Keeping Peyton Manning and his $28 million roster bonus that kicks in on March 8th is risky on two fronts: there is no certainty Manning's neck and nerve injury is totally healed, and investing so much money in Manning and Luck would seriously hamper the financial flexibility the team would have making other roster moves.

On the other hand, who wants to move the player that made the Colts relevant again and will retire as one of the greatest football players in NFL history?

Up until now, you could understand Irsay's hesitation in making a decision. This isn't a decision you rush, both for yourself and for the legions of Colts fans who love Manning.

And maybe Manning would have been given a less-than-clean bill of health or come out and said he wouldn't want to be in Indy if the team picked Luck.

Colts fans could understand the team not keeping him around in that situation.

But that hasn't happened, and, at this point, it's becoming more and more obvious that Manning won't be a Colt next year. The time to move on is now. The longer this drags out at this point, the more Colts fans will resent Irsay for how he handled the situation.

From a business standpoint, a severance from Manning simply makes the most sense. And a move probably makes the most sense for Manning as well—the team he's returning to won't be the same one he left. His general manager, coach and potentially several prominent teammates—Reggie Wayne, notably—will be gone.

Don't make this more painful than it has to be, Jim Irsay. Peyton Manning, the new Colts staff and Indianapolis fans deserve the right to start over without a lengthy and unnecessarily painful goodbye.

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