As anyone else in Indianapolis, I’ve been having numerous conversations with people on the future of the Colts and whether or not Peyton Manning will be a part of that future. Most of my thoughts over this past season hasn’t been questioning when Peyton will be back, but if  he’ll be back.
I would hate to see Peyton wearing any other jersey if he’s not wearing a Colts jersey, but I’d also hate for him to leave his football career be retiring from the sideline and injured list instead of going out as an active player after another decade of taking snaps as our quarterback.
With the recent hires of Chuck Pagano as head coach, Bruce Arians as offensive coordinator and Keith Butler as the new defensive coordinator, I’m very excited about the coaching experience and strengths these three are bringing to the big, blue horseshoe.
The question still remains, will the Colts keep Peyton? Will they draft Andrew Luck? We’ve been known to NOT do what everyone else expected (at least under Polian… remember Edgerrin over Ricky and Peyton over Leaf?). What if the Colts traded the 1st round draft pick for a flurry of additional picks and were still able to pick up Robert Griffin III instead.
If Peyton is healthy and Irsay picks up the tab for him and Luck. How much does that leave for keeping the rest of the team that’s usually required to protect those expensive quarterbacks, or give them targets to throw to or hand-off? Just lots of questions abound.
I just don’t see Peyton coming back. I sure would like for him to still be a part of the Colts organization. I have no idea how that would work but he’s an asset to a team no matter what role he’s in on the field, on the sideline or in the booth.