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Now That the National Football League’s 2011 season is history, there’s not much in the way of NFL news worthy stories circulating other than two- the upcoming league draft in April, and the ongoing mini soap opera in Indianapolis revolving around Colts owner Jim Irsay and star quarterback Peyton Manning.

Ironically, both of those stories are linked together, given that the Indianapolis Colts have the first overall pick in the April draft, and everyone expects them to pick Stanford’s all-world quarterback Andrew Luck, which makes Peyton Manning expendable.

Peyton Manning could be elected Mayor of Indianapolis as a write in candidate. That’s how much he is adored by Colts fans.  Until Manning arrived in Indianapolis in 1998 the Colts had struggled in mediocrity and several different starting quarterbacks including Indianapolis native Jeff George.

Manning missed the entire 2011 season with a neck injury.  Without Manning the Colts finished with a 2-14 record, their worst since his rookie season when they finished 3-13.

If Peyton Manning never takes another snap as an NFL quarterback, he’s still all but guaranteed a spot in the Hall of Fame.  Manning’s career averages are very impressive.  Over 13 seasons he has averaged 4,218 passing yards, 30.6 Touchdowns, and 15.2 interceptions (exactly a 2:1 ratio), led the Colts to a win in Super Bowl XLI in 2007, and has been to the Pro Bowl 11 times.

The Colts have spent this off season cleaning house.  A new coaching staff has been hired, and the team seems prepared to go into next season without Peyton Manning for the first time in 14 years.

If Manning and the Colts can’t reach an agreement on Peyton’s contract before the March deadline then Manning may very well be with another team in 2012.  I am a fan of one of the Colts AFC South rivals, the Houston Texans.  However, as a Texans fan I can’t bring myself to dislike Payton Manning.  I have tried, and I just can’t do it.  He’s a gifted quarterback, and his TV personas in the commercials I’ve seen have been very funny.  Plus, he seems like a decent, humble guy.

That is why I personally do not want to see Manning in the uniform of another NFL team.  He needs to remain an Indianapolis Colt and retire as an Indianapolis Colt.  I remember several other players who tried to extend their careers with other teams while their careers seemed to be winding down:  Joe Namath as a San Francisco forty-niner, Dan Pastorini as an Oakland Raider, and, the most awkward example that comes to mind is from another Colts legend from their days in Baltimore, the great Johnny Unitas as a San Diego Charger? Sad is the only adjective that comes to mind.

So if I were granted an opportunity to sit down with Peyton Manning I would simply ask him to retire as an Indianapolis Colt, because his neck injury, which required 3 surgeries this year, is nothing to take lightly. 

To me, the only thing worse than seeing Peyton Manning in another team’s jersey would be seeing Peyton Manning in a wheelchair.

SL