5 Players Who Would Be Missed as Much as Peyton Manning

The news today is bleak if you're a Colts fan, but joyous if you cheer for any other team in the AFC South. Peyton Manning has had more neck surgery today. Typically, there are about three months of recovery required before the rigorous rehab can even be started after a surgery like this, so there is a pretty decent chance that Manning’s season is lost.

Given that the Colts now have to pin their quarterback hopes either on an ancient Kerry Collins or an underwhelming Curtis Painter, and given that the team hasn’t used another starter for 13 years, it’s not hard to argue that the loss of Manning is more significant to his team than the loss of any other player would be to any other team.

The guy is the Colts.

While no one is more important, there are lots of other guys who would be sorely missed if they were lost. It’s not always the guys you would expect—the Patriots managed to put up respectable numbers when Tom Brady was gone for the year, even though Brady is arguably the best player in the league.

Here’s a look at the five guys who would, in my estimation, be missed by their teams almost as much as Manning will be missed if they were suddenly unavailable for a year:

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints 

When Brees was rescued from the Chargers and landed in New Orleans, it was one of those rare situations where a guy and a team that were meant for each other were united. It’s a perfect pairing, and it has obviously turned out well for them.

Despite being undersized in NFL terms, he has managed to hold up reasonably well. Given that his team is built around his explosiveness on offense, though, it would be very bad news for this team if he were gone. 

Behind Brees the Saints’ depth chart at QB is Chase Daniel and Sean Canfield. While I enjoyed both guys when they played at Missouri and Oregon State respectively, we certainly don’t know that they are ready for the NFL prime-time, and they aren’t going to get a lot of game experience while Brees is healthy.

Brees is the engine of the offense and the heart and soul of his team and his city, so the impact of his loss would be massive—especially for a team that has a really good look at a deep playoff run this year.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Green Bay has had remarkable luck with their quarterbacks, running the long Brett Favre era right into the Aaron Rodgers era. Both guys are ridiculously good, and both like to be on the field pretty much all the time. 

Like Brees, Rodgers is the guy who drives the offense and leads the team—on and off the field. Matt Flynn or Graham Harrell would be a huge step back, and the absence of Rodgers would leave a hole the size of Wisconsin in this team.

Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles 

I hope the Eagles have come to terms with the real possibility that they could be without Vick for a long time because of how he plays and how fragile he has been in the past. Why I put him on this list, though, is because of how much his reputation has grown recently and the massive investment the team has made in him.

The so-called “Dream Team” has been built around Vick, and he is like the spiritual leader of the squad. When you take away someone who is larger than life like Vick is—every celebrity in the world calls him to wish him luck regularly, it seems—it can have an impact on the team that goes far beyond the impact on the field.

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

It seems strange to put a receiver on a list with a bunch of quarterbacks. Like the guys above him on this list, though, Fitzgerald is the heart and soul of his team. 

He is probably the best receiver in the league, and he has remained a loyal and determined member of his team when other key members have moved on.

No matter how frustrating things have been in Arizona since its Super Bowl loss, it’s still possible to believe in the team because it has someone like Fitzgerald leading the way. Without him the team would lack for identity in a big way. 

Matt Schaub, Houston Texans 

With the loss of Manning and the QB insanity in Jacksonville this is the year for the Texans; if they can’t finally win this division this year, they never will.

Like Brees and Rodgers, Schaub is the driving force of a potent offense and the leader of his team both on and off the field. If Schaub were to go down, the Matt Leinart era would start immediately in Houston. If you think that that would go well, you are a heck of a lot more of an optimist than I am.

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