Slightly O?T: Report says 50/50 chance Colt's Manning retires.

[Gwedd]

According to a report from Chris Myers of Fox Sports:

Report: ‘Better Than 50 Percent Chance’ Peyton Manning Retires | SI Tracking Blog

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has missed this entire season while recovering from neck surgery. Much of the discussion has centered around if he should return at the end of this year — if available — and if the team should consider drafting a top QB in the draft to groom under Manning in his final years. According to a report from Chris Myers of Fox Sports tweeted by Ben Maller of Fox Sports Radio, Myers feels there there is “better than 50% chance he retires.”

I will go on record and say that Manning will retire at the end of the season. Considering the severity of his surgery and the difficulties reported in his recovery, I expect he'll consider his career, his potential with the Colts, their likelihood of drafting a new QB, and decide that the risks of further injury outweigh whatever potential rewards might come from staying with Indy.

What else has he got to prove?

 

[Sciz]

And there's a 100% chance they replace him with Luck. They better hope that works out for them.

 

[Rob0729]

I think Manning will let it linger for a while for every hope that he might be able to return, but ultimately will retire. I don't think he will pull a Favre, but competitors like Manning have a hard time just throwing in the towel. The question is though is that he has a huge bonus at the beginning of the new football year, what will the Colts do? I guess Manning might agree to delay the payment of that until he is ready to go as long as they agree not to trade him.

 

[Jangles]

Was there any doubt?

He's been a Colt his entire career, and he's a fierce competitor. He knows as well as anybody that the Colts are throwing the season. Remember how pissed he looked when they threw in the towel on the 16-0 season? Imagine he feels now watching his joke of a team.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

According to a report from Chris Myers of Fox Sports:

Report: ‘Better Than 50 Percent Chance’ Peyton Manning Retires | SI Tracking Blog



I will go on record and say that Manning will retire at the end of the season. Considering the severity of his surgery and the difficulties reported in his recovery, I expect he'll consider his career, his potential with the Colts, their likelihood of drafting a new QB, and decide that the risks of further injury outweigh whatever potential rewards might come from staying with Indy.

What else has he got to prove?

That's a shame if it turns out to be true and his career is over. He might be a rival but there's no denying how great a player he is and the NFL will be weaker without him.

As for him possibly playing again, I don't think it has anything to do with him having something to prove. It's simply that he loves the game and is still good at it. It has to be a tough feeling wondering if you've taken your last snap when you can still play at such a high level.

I wish him luck in whichever decision he makes.

 

[Deus Irae]

He's an older player, and I hope he takes his time making his decision. His health for his entire life is more important than coming back for a couple more years.

May he and his doctors make the wise decision.

 

[Gwedd]

He's an older player, and I hope he takes his time making his decision. His health for his entire life is more important than coming back for a couple more years.

May he and his doctors make the wise decision.

Exactly. My point is that he can walk away with no shame, no regrets. He set records, he was/is a standard to measure other QB's by, he has a ring, and financially, he's set for life.

He can play if he's able to, but why risk it? I'd rather see him walk away rather than pull a Favre and be hanging on and on and on, until you're remembered as a joke rather than for what you've accomplished.

Regardless of his decision, I wish him well. I just don't ever want to see him win against New England again.

 

[aurakilla]

no...........no.................NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO




who is gonna be the pats rival then???!?!?!?!??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

no...........no.................NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO




who is gonna be the pats rival then???!?!?!?!??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!

Sanchez?????? I couldnt even type that with a straight face. Sanchez sucks

Clearly the jets are the rival, but we may never see a manning again

 

[ctpatsfan77]

no...........no.................NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO




who is gonna be the pats rival then???!?!?!?!??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[supafly]

I don't know. I think that maybe it's a bit premature to be thinking there's a "50/50" chance that Manning retires and never plays again.

I think for that to happen, there'd have to be clear cut proof that his injury will not improve to the point where he could play at all by September of next year...and how would he really know that by the end of the season? This injury is very odd and kind of rare, meaning that I don't see how he'd know for sure that he isn't going to heal properly..at least not 9 months ahead of the season.

Manning is a great competitor, and will surely want to play again, if only for a couple more years. If anything, he's got almost 30 million reasons coming in a bonus, and would definitely want to mentor Andrew Luck for a year or two. I am sure that the Colts would want the exact same scenario.

I think this report is nothing more than pure speculation, and one man's opinion. Nothing more.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I don't know. I think that maybe it's a bit premature to be thinking there's a "50/50" chance that Manning retires and never plays again.

I think for that to happen, there'd have to be clear cut proof that his injury will not improve to the point where he could play at all by September of next year...and how would he really know that by the end of the season? This injury is very odd and kind of rare, meaning that I don't see how he'd know for sure that he isn't going to heal properly..at least not 9 months ahead of the season.

Manning is a great competitor, and will surely want to play again, if only for a couple more years. If anything, he's got almost 30 million reasons coming in a bonus, and would definitely want to mentor Andrew Luck for a year or two. I am sure that the Colts would want the exact same scenario.

I think this report is nothing more than pure speculation, and one man's opinion. Nothing more.

It's clearly nothing more than speculation. Even Manning doesn't know if he's going to be able to play again, and that's the scary part for all concerned. And I think unless he believes he can do so at a high level he will have no interest in playing anywhere. And little interest in mentoring Luck. Manning has never been a mentor to backup QB's. Spends his mentoring time with WR's and TE's. Peyton was solely focused on winning now, and to that end his backups never even got first team practice reps, one of the reasons they were hard to evaluate and didn't appear to progress, except when he was injured and then as we saw after the knee injury sidelined him through pre season his own and the teams performance reflected that for months...

I've said all along, he will either play for the Colts in 2012 or retire. He's not starting over somewhere else. He's not letting them trade him, the contract was structured to prohibit that cap wise. It gives them an out prior to the start of FA in March in the event he projects to be unable to play again. Irsay is babbling on twitter that they can retain him and draft a QB. And they can, only it will have cap implications ($22M+ a year worth for he and Luck) as well as draft implications that will make it hard for them to improve on the 2011 team for the forseeable future...

He's coming up on another of his checkpoints on December 1 at which time he will probably do another sitdown media update. It's all about nerve regeneration at this point. If he's not able to throw freely (pain or numbness free) with velocity come mid February you'd have to wonder if he will ever be able to again. $28M would be a lot to wager on an unpredictable outcome.

 

[tests]

good for the game IMO

 

[Bella*chick]

good for the game IMO

How do you figure?

I hope he decides to do what is best for him.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Was an eye opener to read that report a couple of months ago where Manning went to Europe for stem cell tx on that neck. That was a huge red flag about the severity of that injury. Would not surprise me if Manning retired. You permanently mess up your neck you've permanently messed up your ability to function normally for the rest of your life. Manning has had 2 surgeries and stem cell tx on that neck in the past year. Think he had a prior surgery on that neck a couple of years ago. This 35 yr old should come back and play QB in the NFL?? Not if he wants to enjoy playing with his kids as they grow up.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

That's one person's speculation, no matter how well-informed it might or might not be.

Assuming he recovers sufficiently, my own guess is that he won't retire without giving it a try in the offseason and well into the summer. The Colts have the cap room to carry both him and Luck under the new CBA rules for Rookie QB's. I could also see him staying and mentoring Luck for a season or two, if his health permits.

 

[borg]

He's not walking away from $18 mill a year. If the Colts cut him before his next big bonus check, some other team will gladly fill in as his ATM. My guess is, he will be happy to move on to a team that has younger, better talent. The guy likes making money and.....$54 million jobs aren't too plentiful.

 

[RodThePat]

Hope he doesn't retire. There are 4 elite QBs in the NFL today: Brady, Manning, Brees and Rodgers. To have that list narrowed down to 3, and seeing the other two guys playing in the NFC would be really disappointing. I've wished for him to fail many, many times, but I have nothing but respect for Peyton Manning.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

He's not walking away from $18 mill a year. If the Colts cut him before his next big bonus check, some other team will gladly fill in as his ATM. My guess is, he will be happy to move on to a team that has younger, better talent. The guy likes making money and.....$54 million jobs aren't too plentiful.

But who's going to risk that much money on a guy who could be the epitome of a glass cannon?

 

[Simkin]

Regardless of his decision, I wish him well. I just don't ever want to see him win against New England again.

This hope he is okay and everyone too