Peyton Manning Rumors: Jim Irsay, Colts Foolish to Spurn Face of Franchise

Loyalty is dead.

Jim Irsay has shown absolutely no respect to Peyton Manning since the Indianapolis Colts season ended.  The rumors swirling suggest that Manning has played his last game in a Colts uniform, but it would be a mistake to let the future Hall of Famer walk.

According to NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, a source close to Manning believes he’ll play in 2012, but not in Indianapolis.

While Irsay’s lack of intelligence goes deeper than mathematical ability, the Indianapolis owner apparently can’t comprehend the fact his franchise had made the playoffs 10 straight years with Manning under center.  And the one season that they didn’t field their all-world quarterback, they went 2-14: simple math.

Manning will turn 36 years old this March, so without a doubt the Colts should select Andrew Luck to take the reins.  Starting Luck right away, though, isn’t an intelligent idea.

No matter how talented an NFL quarterback prospect is, the ideal development conditions involve him sitting at least one season behind a mentor.  Starting Cam Newton right away worked out for the Carolina Panthers, but it isn’t like they had any other options.  Indianapolis possesses another option and he just happens to be one of the greatest passers in league history.

This is what the Colts must do: Draft Luck, keep Manning and allow the Stanford product to sit for a year behind him.  Doing that not only gives their future franchise quarterback a year to develop behind a mental giant, but it will give Manning the opportunity to prove he’s still an elite starter, which will skyrocket his trade value for the Colts to trade in 2013.

The NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers, developed into the dominant force he is today because he wasn’t rushed into action.  Indianapolis doesn’t have to wait three years to start Luck like the Green Bay Packers did for Rodgers, but it’s still the safest and most efficient route to travel for the Colts.

If they release Manning and force Luck to put an untalented football team on his back from day one, they'll never climb back to the top.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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