'no Hurry' Means Peyton Could Easily Be Back

[oldunclemark]

If Irsay had decied to keep Manning, that decision could already have been announced ..

But despite the rampant speculation on what team Peyton is going to and the insistence that's he's surely gone...

......the fact that Irsay insists the decision wont be announced until the deadline means he hasnt decided to ax Manning.... and he's looking into a way to get keep Manning and get Luck, too.. right?

It also suggests that Manning is showing improvement physically and has asked Irsay to give it another month....

Does anyone else see it this way?

[Jaric]

I'm taking Irsay at his word.

Which is that over the next month he's going to talk to Peyton. They two of them will assess his health and long term plans for the future. Together they will make a decision. I don't think that decision has been made, and I don't think the health issue is resolved.

All this reading of the tea leaves (for either outcome) is really nothing more than idle speculation.

I really think we will all be better off if we just resolve to be patient and wait for our questions to be answered in about a month or so.

[GoColts8818]

I think Jim Irsay knows what comes with releasing Peyton Manning and isn't going to do it till he has to or till at the very least he can stand up and say after talking to Peyton Manning Peyton feels it was best for us to release him so he's not painted as the complete bad guy as some fans are going to do.

With that said why should he rush it? Unless Peyton goes in and asks for his release and Irsay was leaning that way anyways why should he? There is no promise Luck or RG3 will be the next Peyton Manning even though they are highly touted. Give Peyton Manning every chance you can to get healthy and at the point you have to make a decision you make it and tell people hey we waited as long as we could to make this decision. We gathered as much information as we could but unforently at the time we had to make this choice we felt do to Peyton Manning's health we could not commit to him for the next four years. This was an extremely hard decision to make and we hated doing it and we would like to thank Peyton Manning for everything he has done not only for our franchise and the game of football but for the city of Indianapolis as well.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that but if it does that's how I would handle it.

[oldunclemark]

I'm taking Irsay at his word.

Which is that over the next month he's going to talk to Peyton. They two of them will assess his health and long term plans for the future. Together they will make a decision. I don't think that decision has been made, and I don't think the health issue is resolved.

All this reading of the tea leaves (for either outcome) is really nothing more than idle speculation.

I really think we will all be better off if we just resolve to be patient and wait for our questions to be answered in about a month or so.

True Jaric...no doubt..

but its SO pivotal....Wayne. Saturday, Mathis....Clark..They all hinge on Manning..

If he's gone...they are probably gone, too.

If he's back..it makes sense to keep the 'old guard' ......

The new coaches cant tell us much until they know what their marching orders are...

..and if the goal is playoff and Super Bowl ...or reconstruction

Notice how none of the coaches have said they want Manning back...even though they surely do

[pacolts56]

I will say this....Irsay's comments that the bonus date could be "moved back" surprised me because I was under the impression that if we are in the same league year, which doesn't lapse until March 13th, that the contract cannot be renegotiated....which is why the March 8th date was such an inconvenient stumbling block.

It would be kinda nice if we had a clear and definitive read on exactly whether or not this can be done because it changes everything if the CBA allows such a change and Peyton is willing to restructure the bonus and the overall cap ramifications of his deal.

Right now....his current contract coupled with his medical uncertainty is a gamble many of us would understand Irsay not being willing to take.

I'm no contract lawyer or expert on the new CBA....anyone know if this can REALLY happen?

[oldunclemark]

I think Jim Irsay knows what comes with releasing Peyton Manning and isn't going to do it till he has to or till at the very least he can stand up and say after talking to Peyton Manning Peyton feels it was best for us to release him so he's not painted as the complete bad guy as some fans are going to do.

With that said why should he rush it? Unless Peyton goes in and asks for his release and Irsay was leaning that way anyways why should he? There is no promise Luck or RG3 will be the next Peyton Manning even though they are highly touted. Give Peyton Manning every chance you can to get healthy and at the point you have to make a decision you make it and tell people hey we waited as long as we could to make this decision. We gathered as much information as we could but unforently at the time we had to make this choice we felt do to Peyton Manning's health we could not commit to him for the next four years. This was an extremely hard decision to make and we hated doing it and we would like to thank Peyton Manning for everything he has done not only for our franchise and the game of football but for the city of Indianapolis as well.

Hopefully it doesn't come to that but if it does that's how I would handle it.

Is there a chance that Manning can prove to Irsay in one month that he'll be ready olead the Colts back to their 2009-10 level?

[jskinnz]

If Irsay had decied to keep Manning, that decision could already have been announced ..

But despite the rampant speculation on what team Peyton is going to and the insistence that's he's surely gone...

......the fact that Irsay insists the decision wont be announced until the deadline means he hasnt decided to ax Manning.... and he's looking into a way to get keep Manning and get Luck, too.. right?

It also suggests that Manning is showing improvement physically and has asked Irsay to give it another month....

Does anyone else see it this way?

In my mind, the decision to part ways has already been made.

[GoColts8818]

Is there a chance that Manning can prove to Irsay in one month that he'll be ready olead the Colts back to their 2009-10 level?

I have no idea. I am not a doctor and I have no more knowledge of Peyton's healing than anyone else does.

[oldunclemark]

I will say this....Irsay's comments that the bonus date could be "moved back" surprised me because I was under the impression that if we are in the same league year, which doesn't lapse until March 13th, that the contract cannot be renegotiated....which is why the March 8th date was such an inconvenient stumbling block.

It would be kinda nice if we had a clear and definitive read on exactly whether or not this can be done because it changes everything if the CBA allows such a change and Peyton is willing to restructure the bonus and the overall cap ramifications of his deal.

Right now....his current contract coupled with his medical uncertainty is a gamble many of us would understand Irsay not being willing to take.

I'm no contract lawyer or expert on the new CBA....anyone know if this can REALLY happen?

That got me too, paco..

..because many on this board insisted that could not happen...Buy Irsay says it can..

If the date can be moved beyond the 13th..we simply re-do Peyton Manning's contract..and defer payments.

..making his present-day money dependent on him actually playing and we have both Manning and Luck..

I just dont know.

[Jaric]

True Jaric...no doubt..

but its SO pivotal....Wayne. Saturday, Mathis....Clark..They all hinge on Manning..

If he's gone...they are probably gone, too.

If he's back..it makes sense to keep the 'old guard' ......

The new coaches cant tell us much until they know what their marching orders are...

..and if the goal is playoff and Super Bowl ...or reconstruction

Notice how none of the coaches have said they want Manning back...even though they surely do

I think right now the "goal" is reconstruction. Obviously the superbowl is always the goal, but being realistic (at least IMO) this is not a team that is ready to compete for a superbowl, even if Manning comes back (which would be nice)

[jskinnz]

Is there a chance that Manning can prove to Irsay in one month that he'll be ready olead the Colts back to their 2009-10 level?

Unless GoColts8818 is Manning himself, I am positive he will be unable to answer that question with any degree of certainly.

[jskinnz]

I have no idea. I am not a doctor and I have no more knowledge of Peyton's healing than anyone else does.

I just posted something on this quetion to you. How in the heck would you know the answer to that question?

[GoColts8818]

That got me too, paco..

..because many on this board insisted that could not happen...Buy Irsay says it can..

If the date can be moved beyond the 13th..we simply re-do Peyton Manning's contract..and defer payments.

..making his present-day money dependent on him actually playing and we have both Manning and Luck..

I just dont know.

Peyton has to agree to that too. I am not sure if Peyton wants to do that because it opens the door up for him to be traded and if he has to leave the Colts I am sure he would rather get to pick where he's going to go and not be told where he's going to go and I am sure he would rather go to a team that wouldn't have to give up a lot of draft picks to get him.

Also Peyton seems to want this done sooner rather than later based on the interview he gave to ESPN. I am not sure he would agree to push the date back.

Lastly I am not sure it's in the best interest of the Colts to push that back past the start of free agency. At some point you have to start building a team for next year and frankly the extra money we would have by not having Peyton Manning on the roster is going to have a major inpact on what the Colts can do in free agency. Also there is a difference in how you build the team going forward with Peyton Manning as your QB vs. Andrew Luck as your QB.

[oldunclemark]

In my mind, the decision to part ways has already been made.

Could easily be........He may be simply trying to reach a deal with Luck before he lets Manning go.

[Jaric]

Could easily be........He may be simply trying to reach a deal with Luck before he lets Manning go.

I don't think that's it, simply because the rookie contracts are more or less already set in stone. Not a whole lot of negotiating to do.

Getting Luck signed (if we draft him) is really the least of our concerns.

[jskinnz]

Could easily be........He may be simply trying to reach a deal with Luck before he lets Manning go.

Dear God...

this again?

[oldunclemark]

Dear God...

this again?

Sure....if what you suggest is true about parting ways..

It would be smart business to lock down your new QB before you release your old one...

You can come to an agreement before the draft if you have the No.1 pick

..just makes sense....

[Susie Q]

Could easily be........He may be simply trying to reach a deal with Luck before he lets Manning go.

How can he reach a deal with Luck before the draft? I was under the impression that it was not possible to do that. I thought interviews could be done but no deals made until the draft. Maybe I misunderstood but I 'm sure I read it somewhere in all this fiasco.

[GoColts8818]

Sure....if what you suggest is true about parting ways..

It would be smart business to lock down your new QB before you release your old one...

You can come to an agreement before the draft if you have the No.1 pick

..just makes sense....

Under the new CBA top picks are pretty much slotted in terms of money and years. So there isn't much of a reason to get a deal done with them before hand like under the old CBA. The only reason would be if you weren't sure if Luck would sign in Indy. That doesn't seem to be an issue. Luck seems to be willing to come here based on the interviews I have seen from him and the story ESPN had up on him earlier today. He would like a chance to start but the AP story ESPN had up said Luck would coexist with Peyton in Indy. So based on all that I really doubt Irsay is trying to get a deal done with Luck before making a call on Peyton. In fact I think they are going to make a call on Peyton and then deal with the top pick in the draft from there.

[oldunclemark]

I will say this....Irsay's comments that the bonus date could be "moved back" surprised me because I was under the impression that if we are in the same league year, which doesn't lapse until March 13th, that the contract cannot be renegotiated....which is why the March 8th date was such an inconvenient stumbling block.

It would be kinda nice if we had a clear and definitive read on exactly whether or not this can be done because it changes everything if the CBA allows such a change and Peyton is willing to restructure the bonus and the overall cap ramifications of his deal.

Right now....his current contract coupled with his medical uncertainty is a gamble many of us would understand Irsay not being willing to take.

I'm no contract lawyer or expert on the new CBA....anyone know if this can REALLY happen?

From the INDY STAR

The clock is ticking on the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, and likely will continue to do so as a March 8 deadline nears.

Owner Jim Irsay plans to meet with his rehabilitating quarterback next week but made clear a quick resolution shouldn't be anticipated.

"I think it probably will go into early March," Irsay said Wednesday in an interview at the JW Marriott. "As the Super Bowl ends and we go into February and get into early March, (Manning) and I will continue to talk about it and see where we're at.

"The way I'm looking at this is, we just have to have some long conversations and probably even have some time in between the conversations and the month to try to determine what the course to go is."

Manning missed last season after Sept. 8 neck surgery. He's due a $28 million option bonus March 8 that triggers the final four years of his five-year, $90 million deal. If the option isn't paid, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

While the deadline looms, Irsay indicated it could be pushed back if needed. The new league year starts March 13, after which trades are allowed.

"Anything's possible if two parties choose to get together and do that," Irsay said. "I don't think that's something that's an impossibility by any stretch."

[pacolts56]

While the deadline looms, Irsay indicated it could be pushed back if needed. The new league year starts March 13, after which trades are allowed.

"Anything's possible if two parties choose to get together and do that," Irsay said. "I don't think that's something that's an impossibility by any stretch."

Yep....thats why I'm asking.

Everything I've heard or read here on the Forum or from media sources indicate that this is not an option.

I was surprised he even raised the possibility.

[rockywoj]

That got me too, paco..

..because many on this board insisted that could not happen...Buy Irsay says it can..

If the date can be moved beyond the 13th..we simply re-do Peyton Manning's contract..and defer payments.

..making his present-day money dependent on him actually playing and we have both Manning and Luck..

I just dont know.

I would hypothesize that a deferral of a payment does not constitute a "renegotiation". Financial terms remain the same, albeit with a simple payment deferral. "Yo, Peyton, are you 100% healthy yet? No, do you know if you will be 100% healthy in time for training camp? You don't know, okay then, let's push back that March bonus date a few weeks until we have a better indication of where you are at healthwise. Ah, good, you're agreeable with that. Peyton, I luv you man and want you to lead the Colts for at least another couple of years. Once we know if you can physically / healthwise go or not, then at that time we can sit down and maybe rework things so that you are paid what you deserve while at the same time somehow maximizing our salary cap flexibility. Oh and Peyton, one more thing ... as always, when you're playing days are over we have an office for you in management, don't forget that, my boy."

[oldunclemark]

I would hypothesize that a deferral of a payment does not constitute a "renegotiation". Financial terms remain the same, albeit with a simple payment deferral. "Yo, Peyton, are you 100% healthy yet? No, do you know if you will be 100% healthy in time for training camp? You don't know, okay then, let's push back that March bonus date a few weeks until we have a better indication of where you are at healthwise. Ah, good, you're agreeable with that. Peyton, I luv you man and want you to lead the Colts for at least another couple of years. Once we know if you can physically / healthwise go or not, then at that time we can sit down and maybe rework things so that you are paid what you deserve while at the same time somehow maximizing our salary cap flexibility. Oh and Peyton, one more thing ... as always, when you're playing days are over we have an office for you in management, don't forget that, my boy."

Sounds like a page of the script of the new film ....

"The Return of the Sheriff"!

Comng to theatres this August

[jskinnz]

Sure....if what you suggest is true about parting ways..

It would be smart business to lock down your new QB before you release your old one...

You can come to an agreement before the draft if you have the No.1 pick

..just makes sense....

The two are not freaking related.

[oldunclemark]

The two are not freaking related.

..Oh no....mi compadre....

In business....they most certainly are freakin' related my man...

...Irsay is a business man...

If you are letting the old guy go..come to a verbal or handshake agreement with the folks representing the new guy..

That's the way its done..

[jskinnz]

..Oh no....mi compadre....

In business....they most certainly are freakin' related my man...

...Irsay is a business man...

If you are letting the old guy go..come to a verbal or handshake agreement with the folks representing the new guy..

That's the way its done..

Please stop telling me how it is done in business.

I give you credit for persistance. But this is like your Manning as a 3rd string QB thread from the other day, or when you tried to compare NFL contracts to baseball contracts or when you thought Luck should only sign a 2-year deal - you are simply not accurate. If Manning is not healthy, he will be cut. That is completely independent of taking Luck. If Manning is cut because of his burdensome contract, that will happen completely independent of them deciding to take Luck, RG3 or someone else.

[Scipio]

My opinion is that Irsay and Manning will map out a few scenarios, then wait and see which one will need to be exercised on or near Mar 8th:

1) Manning is not showing much improvement near deadline and is cut (and likely retires)

2) Manning is showing improvement, but there is still a ways to go, so they agree to no trade and push date back for bonus and re-evaluation. This would likely result in a restructuring of his contract.

3) Manning suddenly is back at 100% before Mar 8th and Irsay pays out the bonus.

I really think it will come down to one of the above and my gut tells me that it will likely be #2, since that grey area covers more ground.