Peyton Manning: Will Latest Retirement Rumors Ensure Colts Draft a QB?

With whispers that Peyton Manning could retire after this season, it appears more likely than ever that the Indianapolis Colts will be looking for a quarterback in the 2012 NFL draft.

Manning, who is coming off two neck surgeries in the offseason, has been held out of the entire season, and now there are reports he could be done for good.

Tweeted Fox Sports Radio host Ben Maller:

It's hard to even imagine the Colts without Manning. Of course, this season is a good indication of how things would look in the short term. The Colts are now 0-11 after their 27-19 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Manning has been the starter for the Colts since he was drafted No. 1 overall in the 1998 NFL Draft coming out of Tennessee.

He's passed for nearly 55,000 yards, thrown 399 touchdown passes and completed 64.9 percent of his passes for his career. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer down the line.

What does this mean for next year's draft? Let's just say "Suck for Luck" goes into full effect.

The good thing about being 0-11 is that the Colts could very well end up with the No. 1 overall selection in next year's draft. Interestingly enough, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is actually being compared to Manning when he came out of Tennessee.

Talk about good timing. Imagine having a quarterback of Manning's caliber for 14 seasons and then replacing him with one of the most hyped quarterback prospects in years.

For the record, Luck has passed for 35 touchdowns to nine interceptions this season for the No. 6 Cardinal, while completing 70 percent of his throws. He also led the Cardinal to an Orange Bowl victory over then-No. 13 Virginia Tech last season.

I already thought the Colts would draft a quarterback next year, given Manning probably wasn't going to be around much longer anyway, but this could make it a done deal.

Whether it is Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III or Matt Barkley, expect the Colts to draft a quarterback in the first round in 2012.