2012 NFL Draft: The Indianapolis Colts Should Release Peyton Manning

The Indianapolis Colts have had an amazing run under Peyton Manning.  It's time to release him and start fresh.

When considering the Indianapolis Colts' present predicament, one interesting parallel is the 1991-1992 Boston Celtics.  That year, the Celtics went 51-31 and lost a tight 4-3 Eastern Conference semifinals series to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  The Celtics were the most successful franchise in the NBA up to that point, but their current team's glory days were ending.  

Boston's executives were faced with a choice: trade the team's best players—including Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish—and start fresh or try to retool and milk out a few more winning seasons.  Larry Bird retired, but the Celtics still chose to retool and, after going 48-34 and losing in the first round in 1992-93, the Celtics imploded.  They did not return to the playoffs for 15 years.

The parallel is imperfect.  After all, Larry Bird's back injuries forced him to retire, while Peyton Manning wants to play for the Colts next season.  But the point is clear: even the greatest teams age.  When they start to break down, franchises need to start over before the entire edifice collapses.

Last year, Peyton Manning lost the NFL season to injury.  His absence led to an embarrassing 2-14 season, which brought the franchise's decade-plus-long streak of success to a screeching halt.  But it also gave them a gift: the opportunity to draft Andrew Luck, the most talented college passer since Peyton Manning, and build a young team around him.  

Luck is NFL-ready, and the Colts will have significant cap space if they release or trade several overcompensated veterans, making their retooling process much briefer than expected. If they release Manning and trade or cut Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne, the Colts will be major players for young free agents and have extra draft picks to select young building blocks.  But if the Colts keep Peyton Manning, pay him his $28 million bonus and re-sign their veterans, then they will see only a brief glimmer of success before watching the bottom fall out from under them.

Many NFL fans would like to see the Colts keep Manning, draft Luck and have him learn under Peyton's tutelage for 2-3 years.  Manning is a great player, a Colts icon and an ambassador for the game, so that is very understandable.  But it is also unrealistic: The Colts cannot pay Manning the astronomical bonus plus his $20 million salary and Luck's $10 million rookie compensation as the No. 1 overall pick.  Under the NFL's hard cap, keeping over $30 million at the quarterback position does not allow you to build a competitive team.

So, realistically, the Colts have a decision to make: keep Manning or draft Luck.  For the sake of their future, Luck is the obvious choice.  

If you were the Colts, what would you do?  

Let's debate...