Archie Manning said earlier this week that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning would not want to play on the same team. He has backtracked from his comments, but we believe his initial remarks reflect his son’s feelings. Luck is the consensus top prospect entering the draft, and the Colts are interested in drafting him. If they do, they might have to trade Manning. Sounds pretty simple, right?
Maybe not. Former longtime NFL personnel exec, and current NFL insider, Michael Lombardi, placed things in a different context.
“I am not going to be the GM who trades Peyton Manning,” Lombardi bluntly stated on Inside the NFL. “There’s just no chance I’m doing that big boy. No way. He’s going to go put on a Washington Redskins uniform and dazzle DC? I’m not living that life, there’s just no way. If Peyton Manning can play, he’s going to be my quarterback. I’m going to find somebody else. I’m not trading Peyton Manning.”
Lombardi was then pressed by Cris Collinsworth if that means he’d pass on Luck. Lombardi said he would.
“There’s other players that are going to come down the road. Aaron Rodgers was picked 24th in the draft. There’s no saying that if I pick Andrew Luck I’m going to answer all my problems with my football team. I know one thing, Peyton Manning answers a lot of problems, because I wouldn’t be 0-12 if he were still playing.”
Both Del and I feel like the Colts should draft Luck, even if it means they have to trade Peyton. Luck may be good enough to help the franchise reach the playoffs for the next decade whereas Peyton may only have 2-3 years left, if that. But the scenario wouldn’t be that easy, as Lombardi explains, and the potential PR nightmare reminds us of the situation the Packers and Brett Favre endured a few years ago. Still, to a guy like Lombardi who may be fearful of the backlash, we say grow a pair and make the bold play.
