Peyton Manning Rumors: Latest Throwing Reports an Encouraging Sign

Maybe Peyton Manning's right arm isn't such a lost cause after all.

We've reached crunch time in the Manning saga. The Indianapolis Colts have until March 8th to pick up Manning's $28 million option bonus, and there's absolutely no chance of them doing that unless they know that Manning can at least throw a football.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star passed along some good news on that front on Friday:

"

Hearing from multiple sources that Peyton is in Florida and throwing much much better

— BobKravitz (@bkravitz) March 2, 2012"

Very interesting. Keep in mind that this is the same guy who said Manning had a "noodle arm" not too long ago. 

To be fair to Kravitz, he later took back those comments in the form of an apologetic column, but even then he maintained that he was hearing that Manning was throwing just "OK." This wasn't even a month ago.

It seems Manning has made significant progress since then. Positive reports about his arm strength have been hard to come by, if not nonexistent altogether.

Lest you think this latest report was leaked by Manning's camp, Kravitz subsequently noted that it was not:

"

I should say quickly the word of Peyton's improvement was not from anybody in the manning camp.

— BobKravitz (@bkravitz) March 2, 2012"

That reports of Manning's progress throwing the football are coming from somewhere other than his own camp is yet another positive sign. This latest report apparently comes from a person or people who aren't looking out Manning's best interests (and their own best interests, for that matter).

All of this couldn't be happening at a better time for Manning. In recent days/weeks/months, the eventuality of the Colts declining to pay his option bonus and therefore cutting him loose seemed to be a no-brainer.

With these reports coming out, not so much now.

My guess is that the Colts still aren't about to fork over $28 million to Manning. That's simply too much money to pay for a guy whose health is as iffy as his is. The best bet is that the Colts will either cut Manning loose once and for all, or they'll work out a new contract that, in the words of team owner Jim Irsay, "reflects the uncertainty" of his health. Then they'll go ahead and draft Andrew Luck.

But as long as Manning is able to throw the football effectively, he need not worry about his employment. The Colts may not end up wanting him, but other teams will. The NFL rumor mill has made that abundantly clear over the last several months.

There is still a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the Manning saga. But for the first time in a long time, the signs are mostly positive, and the timing couldn't be better as far as he's concerned.