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Colts to release Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning's 14-year career as a member of the Indianapolis Colts is coming to an end.
Sources close to the team told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that the announcement will come at a news conference in Indianapolis on Wednesday with both Manning and owner Jim Irsay in attendance.
The decision to pass on the $28 million bonus owed Manning and not to pick up the four remaining years on his contract means Manning will become a free agent, and sources told Mortensen that he intends to continue to play.
Free agency begins March 13, but Manning can sign with a team as soon as he is officially released. The Colts have until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday to make the transaction official.
Irsay and Manning's agent, Tom Condon, did not immediately respond to messages left by The Associated Press. Team spokesman Avis Roper said he could not confirm the decision or the news conference because Irsay was out of town and unreachable.
The four-time league MVP missed the entire 2011 season after having his third neck surgery in 19 months, a fusion of two vertebrae. Manning, who turns 36 later this month, has been medically cleared to resume his career and has increased his throwing regimen.
To that end, Manning conducted an aggressive throwing session in his Colts helmet, shoulder pads and jersey at Duke University on Friday, a source in attendance told ESPN's Mortensen.
Manning could be seen in a video clip posted late Friday on YouTube, independently verified as authentic, making apparent encouraging progress in his recovery from the surgery that sidelined him for all of last season. He could also be seen completing passes in the video posted by a user who had access to a videotaped portion of the session near the Duke practice field.
Sources at Duke and close to Manning confirmed he has been conducting aggressive throwing sessions in shoulder pads and helmet since Feb. 28 at Duke, where his former University of Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe is now the head coach. It was Manning's second trip to work under the supervision of Cutcliffe.
Several sources have told ESPN during the past month that Manning's throwing strength has dramatically improved as his nerves continue to regenerate following his latest neck surgery Sept. 8. Dr. Robert Watkins, who performed the single-level cervical fusion, has stated publicly that he has cleared Manning to resume his playing career.
But the Colts are rebuilding and over the past two months, Irsay has fired vice chairman Bill Polian, coach Jim Caldwell; most of Caldwell's staff and general manager Chris Polian, Bill's son. The Colts also have the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft and are likely to draft former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck or former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
A former No. 1 overall picks himself, Manning has broken all of Indianapolis' career records for quarterbacks since being drafted out of Tennessee in 1998. He's taken the Colts to the playoffs 11 times, captured seven AFC South titles in eight years, won two AFC championships, one Super Bowl title and a Super Bowl MVP Award.
But in 2009, after Manning brought the Colts to the cusp of history with a 14-0 start, bad news began to overshadow his lengthy resume.
The Colts pulled their starters against the New York Jets and lost the final two games that season. Indy then wound up losing to New Orleans in the Super Bowl. During the offseason, Manning had the first of his neck surgeries.
Then, after making an early playoff exit in the 2010 season, Manning underwent another neck surgery to repair a damaged nerve that was causing weakness in his throwing arm.
Last July, Irsay signed Manning to a new five-year, $90 million contract extension that everyone expected would keep Manning in Indy for the rest of his career.
But when the nerve did not heal as quickly as anticipated, Manning had two vertebrae fused together in September, a surgery that forced him to miss the first game of his career.
Source: AP