Indianapolis Colts' Move to Sign Kerry Collins Too Late, Too Desperate?

Earlier today, the Indianapolis Colts announced that they have signed quarterback Kerry Collins to serve as the backup to starter Peyton Manning.

This comes on the heels of disappointing preseason performances by backups Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky, and the news that Manning's recovery from offseason neck surgery is not progressing as quickly as first anticipated.

Considering the Colts have been well apprised of Manning's surgery and subsequent recovery, as well as the limitations of their backup quarterbacks, it is surprising that they did not try to acquire Collins or another veteran quarterback sooner.

Now Collins, stepping out of retirement, must join the Colts and learn their offense with two weeks of the preseason remaining and an extremely truncated training period ahead.

Manning has remained optimistic about his recovery from the procedure on his neck, which he underwent in May to relieve the pain of a disk injury, and believes he will be ready for the season opener against the Houston Texans.

However, the move to sign Collins shows that the Colts organization is not as optimistic about that time-frame.

Manning currently sits on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list; if the Colts determine he is not healed enough to play during the beginning of the season, there is a chance he could remain on it into the regular season. This means the Colts may be without their proven starter for six weeks.

Whether that becomes the case is as of yet unknown; what is known, however, is that if the Colts are to compete without Manning under center, Orlovsky and Painter aren't the ones who will get it done.

Collins, at the very least, provides veteran presence and a much more stable body of work than the young backups.

It is clear that Manning's slowed recovery has made the Colts desperate for quarterback talent, and rightfully so. The Colts offense without Manning has looked dreadful in their first two preseason games; if seeing those performances made the team desperate, it was an appropriate reaction to an increasingly uncertain situation.

Adding Collins to their roster was a smart move for the Colts; if Collins, and not Manning, takes the field during the regular season it will prove whether they made this move too late.

The hope is that Collins will be ready if he is needed, but the greater hope is that they won't need him much at all.