2012 NFL Free Agent Predictions: Peyton Manning's Top Potential Destinations

Peyton Manning is officially a free agent, according to the QB and Colts owner Jim Irsay’s press conference on ESPN2 at noon on Wednesday.

Now that No. 18 has parted ways with his team of 14 years, he is free to choose his own destination and negotiate a new contract with anyone in the league.

Let’s take a look at the top five franchises who have a chance to wind up with the future Hall of Famer.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals revived the career of an elite QB before, when Kurt Warner came to the desert and almost led this franchise to a Super Bowl victory.

However, Arizona did just bring in Kevin Kolb last season and paid a pretty penny for his services.

It will be hard to justify bringing in Manning and benching Kolb. Even if they do, it will be harder to convince Peyton to play behind their atrocious offensive line.

Seattle Seahawks

Tarvaris “3rd-and-Long” Jackson is clearly not the answer for the Seahawks at the QB position, but the team did too well in 2011-12 to secure a high enough draft pick to get a franchise player.

They’ll have to settle for a rental or once again roll with Jackson, and the former option is clearly the best one if they want a shot at making the playoffs.

There is no better player to “rent” than Peyton Manning. He’d make them instant contenders.

New York Jets

Mark Sanchez needs a fire lit under him. Having him hit the bench so a real signal-caller like Peyton can come in and lead this team would do exactly that.

It’s becoming more and more clear that the Sanchize isn’t the answer for this franchise and he’s just a product of hype and luck in the NYC market.

Now that his luck has run out, the tides are turning against him and it’s clear that Manning would be a better option at this point in time.

Miami Dolphins

Miami is desperate to land a franchise QB and knows that Chad Henne and Matt Moore aren’t the answer.

They are placeholders until the Fins either completely stink it up and get a top pick to use on an elite signal-caller out of college or they sign a free agent such as Peyton.

Since they won’t be able to get Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, the best way to win games in 2012-13 is the latter.

Expect the Fish to make a hard run at doing exactly that.

Washington Redskins

Dan Snyder loves spending money in the offseason to try and improve his team via free agency. Most of these signings turn out to be absolutely terrible (see Albert Haynesworth), but occasionally a gem like Manning enters the picture.

This is the time where Snyder needs to dig deep into his pockets and outbid the competition.

It’s likely that the ‘Skins will offer the most money, Peyton just needs to decide if he wants to play his brother Eli twice a year at the minimum as division rivals.