Peyton Manning: Health Improvement Opens Draft Race for Andrew Luck

We've all wondered if Peyton Manning will ever be Peyton Manning again. Multiple surgeries on the same injury in such a short period of time will do that.

The fact that the Colts were winless for so long didn't help matters either. And now, with one win under their belt and two games to go, the previously anticipated selection of Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has come into question.

The latest update on Peyton's status will push that even further.

Will Carroll, also known as the @injuryexpert gives us quite a startling bit of information this morning:

Obviously No. 18 isn't getting back on the field this year, but there was skepticism about him ever getting back on the field.

This begs the toughest question of all: are the Colts truly ready to give up on Peyton Manning?

The answer is much more difficult than simply drafting Andrew Luck and hoping he turns out to be the next Aaron Rodgers attempting to replace a legend.

The Colts aren't the Packers and they aren't drafting Luck at No. 24 overall.

Owner Jim Irsay will have to decide whether to make this team about Peyton, or to start over with Luck if the Colts earn the No. 1 pick.

Drafting Luck and keeping Peyton poses a variety of problems. For starters, it is far from a financially viable situation.

Manning signed a new five-year deal at the end of the lockout with the intention of finishing out his career in Indianapolis. If that is the case, Colts want Peyton to play for two or three years before handing the reigns to Luck, Indianapolis won't be able to field a competitive team.

Majority of their money would be tied up in Peyton and a non-playing Luck.

This particular football team has a lot of holes and bringing back Peyton to watch him go 6-10 with the players the Colts currently feature isn't worth it either. This team simply isn't good enough, even with Peyton Manning, to compete in the postseason.

Peyton doesn't play defense. He can't help their porous run defense. He can't legitimately coach the entire football team. And he can't split himself into 11 and turn them back into a Super Bowl contender.

If the Colts are going to give Peyton Manning another shot at winning a ring then they have to auction off the No. 1 pick.

Weighing the options isn't difficult.

They field a mediocre to, at best, good team with Peyton under center and Luck on the bench. They'd be lucky to knock off a completely healthy Texans team that way even with the potential additions they get from the rest of the draft and free agency.

Or, they trade away the No. 1 pick or rights to Andrew Luck (again, assuming the win the No. 1 pick) and turn it into a bounty of picks and/or players to help them right now.

The Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, and possibly the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills would all be heavily interested in moving up for him.

Cleveland even has two first round picks in this year's draft.

The Colts could essentially turn one bench player, Luck, into as many starting caliber players as they can find/afford to help Peyton Manning win now.

The decision is hardly easy, but moving forward with both Peyton and Luck is not a feasible option if the Colts want to contend for Super Bowls.

As Peyton continues to get healthier and the draft continues to get closer, the Colts will ultimately have to decide, if they get No.1, if they want to build in the present with No. 18 and work on the future later, or start the future now and move on from the Peyton era.

It is a win-lose situation either way, but the Colts have to figure out which way they want to win.