Just when it sounded like Peyton Manning was going to be forced into retirement because his neck injury wasn’t healing as hoped, we hear the exact opposite. Chris Mortensen reports that Manning has been cleared by two doctors to resume his playing career.
Mort says the doctor who performed Manning’s neck fusion surgery, and the Colts team neurosurgeon have both cleared Peyton to resume playing. Dr. Robert Watkins says Peyton’s neck is strong enough where he would have been able to play this Sunday. However, the bigger question is if Peyton’s arm is ready to resume playing. Yahoo! recently reported that Peyton’s arm strength was lacking.
According to ESPN, the Colts’ neurosurgeon recently told Manning, “If you were my own son, I’d tell (you) to go play.”
This matches what Peyton said earlier in the week, that he’ll be ready and cleared to play. The issue is now his arm. I thought Peyton’s arm strength was already diminishing last season, so it will probably be even worse after the surgery. But now the real fun stuff begins when teams get to explore trades for the four-time MVP.
