Peyton Manning Rumors: Star Quarterback Better off Leaving Indianapolis Colts

One way or another, for one reason or another, Peyton Manning would be well-advised to end his playing career with the Indianapolis Colts. Whether he does so by retiring or taking his talents elsewhere is up to him.

A split between Manning and the Colts wouldn't be the end product of any outstanding animosity or cataclysmic grudge match with team owner Jim Irsay. As Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star suggests, Manning and Irsay aren't the sudden adversaries but rather long-time friends whose relationship has been complicated by Manning's neck, the Colts' on-field struggles in his absence and the obvious choice to take Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft that lies ahead.

Rather, Manning's departure from the Circle City would and should be the result of his own detailed evaluation of what's best for himself, his family and his Hall of Fame career.

At this point, retirement appears to be the safest and most sensible solution for Manning. He's 35, coming off four neck surgeries in just over a year-and-a-half's time and has a wife and two young kids at home. To pursue a return to the NFL would be to jeopardize his present and future health, more so than the average quarterback on account of the physical problems he's fought through since he last suited up for the Colts.

What's more, if Peyton calls it quits, he and Irsay won't have to bother with the awkwardness, if not downright ugliness, of a player-team divorce.

But that's not likely to be the case. Manning's as determined a competitor as there is in football, if not professional sports. He wouldn't have put himself through those four procedures and lobbied to get back on the field against the Houston Texans as hard as he did if he wasn't hellbent on playing in the NFL again.

Assuming that's the case, he'd be wise to request a trade or release so he can seek opportunities elsewhere. As last season's 2-14 campaign made clear, the Colts are destined for a long and difficult rebuilding period, whether Peyton plays for them again or not. The team has too many holes to fill and too many positions to upgrade to so much as invite the word "playoffs" back into its collective vocabulary.

Surely, Manning's too talented and too special a quarterback to waste what little quality football left in his body on a team for which the Super Bowl is something to host rather than play in.

Especially with other teams out there (i.e. the New York Jets, the Tennessee Titans and the Arizona Cardinals, among others) with the pieces in place to compete for the postseason right away and the requisite interest in an upgrade under center to make a Manning move both feasible and sensible.

Would Manning really choose serving as a placeholder for Andrew Luck, as an ancillary adjunct to an organization that's already begun to move on from him, for the sake of loyalty and his desire to play for one franchise and one franchise only, over using his abilities to put a playoff team over the top?

This is a question only Peyton Manning is fit to answer with any authority.

In any case, Manning won't be getting that $28 million bonus the Colts will owe him if he's on the roster come March 8th. By then, he'll either have retired, been traded, been released or negotiated a new, more cap-conscious and incentive-laden contract.

For Manning's own sake, though, his future as a football player would be better served outside of Lucas Oil Stadium, even if it truly is The House That Peyton Built.  

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