The decision on Peyton Manning's future with the Indianapolis Colts became a lot easier to make when Stanford quarterback and likely No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft Andrew Luck recently expressed his desire to play right away in the pros.
The Stanford quarterback said Thursday he could coexist as Manning's teammate, even though his preference would be to play immediately.
"I think every competitor wants to play, every down, every play," Luck said when asked about starting as an NFL rookie. "So, of course, who wouldn't want to start?"
The Colts will almost certainly take Luck with the No. 1 overall pick, because a player of his caliber at football's most important position is something a franchise cannot afford to pass on.
But after spending four years at Stanford in which the last two were fantastic, it appears that Luck is ready to start in the NFL and be productive right away.
With that said, the only option for Manning going forward is finding a new team and parting ways with the Colts, as difficult as that may be for fans of the team to accept.
He's due a $28 million roster bonus on March 8, which is a ton of money for a player who at 35 years old is still recovering from neck surgery, and whose status for next season isn't set in stone.
When Manning inevitably moves from the Colts, it won't be via trade, because that route would be quite an expensive one for the team.
According to Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star, via Pro Football Talk:
Kravitz, who covers the Colts for the Indianapolis Star, points out that, if the Colts pay Peyton and then trade him, the Colts will absorb a 2012 salary cap charge of $38.8 million. And if the Colts trade Peyton Manning in 2013, the cap charge would drop to only $28.8 million.
So the only way for Manning to leave is if the Colts cut him, which is a very real possibility. His health is certainly a concern going forward and with the opportunity to take a franchise quarterback in the draft, it's time for both sides to move on and accept that an era of great success will unfortunately come to an end.
This is an extremely tough decision for Colts owner Jim Irsay to make, and to be honest, he can't win in any scenario surrounding Manning. In all likelihood, Irsay will be the guy who let Manning, the face of the franchise, leave the team.
However, it's a necessary one for his team to move forward, because you cannot base player personnel decisions around sentimental reasons.
The Colts must realize that they are in a fortunate spot where they must say goodbye to one star player, but have the unique chance to bring another one in to replace him with. Many teams don't get to replace Hall of Fame quarterbacks with No. 1 draft picks.
Luck wants to start, and quite honestly, he's capable of doing that from Day 1, so there's only one choice for Irsay to make, and that's cut Manning and move on.
Chad Moeller Jorge Posada Lance Berkman Reegie Corona Juan Miranda Colin Curtis
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿