Peyton Manning: Colts Would Be Foolish to Give Up on Manning

What exactly are the Indianapolis Colts going to do with this Peyton Manning fellow?

Right now, nobody really knows for sure. Manning hasn't played all year thanks of a series of neck surgeries, and the Colts are in line to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

The question, really, is whether or not Manning will be kept on to tutor Luck, or if the Colts will decide to rid themselves of Manning so they can hand Luck the keys to the castle right away.

That's a legitimate possibility. As Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star pointed out, the Colts could let Manning become an unrestricted free agent if they so choose. All they would have to do is decline to pay his $28 million option, which would otherwise trigger the final four years of his five-year, $90 million contract

Trading Manning, by the way, is not really an option. The Star's Bob Kravitz had all the details about that scenario. Suffice it to say it would make things pretty difficult for the Colts from an economic perspective.

So the Colts have to ask themselves one question:

Can Manning still play, or has he officially gone over the hill?

Thankfully, it sounds as if Manning might still be able to play. He's been able to play catch recently, and running back Joseph Addai told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he was impressed with what he was seeing.

If Manning can throw the football with some authority, the Colts have nothing to be afraid of. After all, I'm going to go ahead and assume that his neck surgeries haven't robbed him of his deep knowledge of the game.

As long as he has a strong arm and a good head on his shoulders, Peyton Manning will continue to be Peyton Manning. People want to act like he'll never be himself again and that he's too old to withstand the rigors of the National Football League any longer, but all of us should keep in mind that this is a guy who started 227 consecutive games. Before his neck started acting up, he was a Brett Favre-like iron man.

As such, let's give Manning some credit. He's missed a year and he's not as young as he once was, but it would be foolish to assume that his career is over and done with.

Instead of running him out of town, the Colts should take advantage of whatever Manning has left in him. We're only talking four years, which means Luck will not go to waste sitting on the bench. Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre for three years, and that worked out okay. An extra year for Luck won't hurt him.

You could argue that the Colts would be rolling the dice by bringing Manning back, but would they not be rolling the dice by letting him go and using Luck as their starter? You never know what you're going to get with rookie quarterbacks, and Luck would not be helped by the fact that the team around him wouldn't be very good.

That won't bother Manning. Winning with subpar talent around him is something he's done. If the Colts give him the chance, he can do so again.