With each passing day, the situation seems to become more uncomfortable. At this point, we still don’t know if Peyton Manning will be healthy enough to play football in 2012. Manning says he has been rehabbing his neck injury and working hard to get back on the field, but he has consistently stopped short of making any promises about playing next season. What we can see, however, is that it is highly unlikely that he will be a Colt for much longer.
On Monday, Manning was critical of the way Jim Irsay and the Colts’ management have cleaned house within the organization, wondering if he would be the next person to be run out of town. Irsay responded to those comments on Thursday. Needless to say, he did not sound happy with his franchise quarterback.
“He’s a politician,” Irsay told the Indy Star. “When it comes to being competitive on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the highest, we’re both 11s. There have been plenty of eggshells scattered around this building by him (Manning) with his competitive desire to win.
“I don’t think it’s in the (best) interest to paint the Horseshoe in a negative light, I really don’t. … The horseshoe always comes first. One thing (Manning has) always known, and he’s been around it so long, you keep it in the family. If you’ve got a problem, talk to each other. It’s not about campaigning or anything like that.”
Manning responded to those comments, saying he and Irsay owe it to the fans to work out their differences “appropriately and professionally” and that it wasn’t his intention to paint the Colts in a negative light.
“There’s not any sort of bad situation around here for healing or anything like that,” Irsay said in response to Manning saying the Colts facility was not the best place for rehab at the moment. “That’s not a correct perspective. Like I said, keep it in house, in our family. Talk to each other if you have problems. We’ll work it through hand and hand and continue to talk as we get closer to the league year.”
From a financial standpoint, it makes no sense for the Colts to bring Manning back next season. They are more than a quarterback away from being a Super Bowl contender, and they would not have enough funds to bring in other players with Manning on the roster. How many times do we need to hear it before it actually sinks in? Football is a business.
