As most of you know Peyton Manning and the Colts decided, well the Colts decided, to part ways after 14 years of blissful marriage. Since being taken 1st overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, remember when people thought Ryan Leaf was the bid? Whoops, the name Peyton Manning has become synonymous with the horseshoe on the side of the helmet. He is Johnny Unitas for the latest generation of Colts fans. He brought the Colts franchise its first championship since sneaking away to Indianapolis in the middle of the night and its first championship since Unitas led them to 4 titles between 1958-1970. He put the Colts back on the map after years of misery and proved to be one of the greatest QB’s of all time alongside Joe Montana, Steve Young, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, etc.
But after missing all of last season, his 14th season in the NFL technically, due to multiple neck surgeries where finally a cadaver bone was fused into his neck the Colts were forced to make a decision on whether or not he was worth committing $28 million to this year and a total of roughly $70 million over the next 4 yeas. Coming off a horrendous year and owning the rights to the first overall pick and uber prospect Andrew Luck the Colts decided it didn’t make sense to commit that much money to two players at the QB position thus Manning became ‘expendable’. Now that Peyton has been made a free agent it’s up to him to choose where he’d like to continue his surefire Hall of Fame career. Below I’ve made a list of the 6 places (5 rumored to have expressed interest and one sleeper team I think should make a play) in order that I think would best suit Manning and are most likely to make a move for him. That’s why you’ll see the Jets who talent wise would be the best but already have a Sanchize in place not listed no. 1.
1. Miami Dolphins
If you’ve read the news reports recently it appears that the Dolphins have already landed Manning behind closed doors. The Dolphins make perfect sense for Manning, it’s a warm weather climate, he already owns a condo in the Miami area, the team always fields a very strong defense, and offensively there are some good pieces in place namely a young, strong offensive line led by fellow first overall pick LT Jake Long. One major reason that the Colts teams Manning captained for years only broke through and won it all only one time is because the team was too offensive based and struggled on the defensive side of the ball. In Miami defense tends to come first, which is a trait that I think appeals greatly to Manning. Offensively the Dolphins have some good toys for Manning to play with in WR Brandon Marshall, who can have a case of the dropsies more often than not but is an all world talent, fellow WRs Davone Bess and Brian Hartline, TE Anthony Fasano, and RB’s Reggie Bush, who played like a number one cow bell back last year racking up over 1,000 yards, and young speedster Daniel Thomas. The pieces are in place for Manning to come in and help lead the Dolphins to a playoff bid at the very least.
2. Kansas City Chiefs (SLEEPER ALERT)
I’ve been following the Manning saga unfold for the past couple days now and almost no one has mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs as a possible destination and I can’t figure out why? Because they have Matt Cassel? Good one, try again. The two things that completely derailed the Chiefs season last year after taking a great step forward into the playoffs was the injury to All Pro RB Jamaal Charles and then injuries at the QB position. As a Patriots fan I’m a Matt Cassel fan don’t get me wrong but if he can lead them to a 10-6 record in a weak AFC West Peyton Manning should be able to get them to at least 13 wins and a first round bye. Cassel has been a good quarterback in the few years he’s had the opportunity to play but he’s also had some injury concerns and isn’t on the level of Peyton Manning. The Chiefs have a solid, young offensive line built upon through recent drafts, a great running back in Charles, a solid receiving corps led by WR Dwayne Bowe and TE Tony Moeaki, and a young defense with solid pieces in place. Like the Dolphins they Chiefs have built from the defense to the offense and with new head coach and defensive wizard Romeo Crennel the defense should get even better. The Chiefs provide Manning an opportunity to almost guarantee a playoff berth next year by its sheer placement in the weak AFC West. Once there he could do some damage with an electrifying back like Jamaal Charles to keep defenses honest. The Chiefs would have to find a way to move Cassel to free up the cap space for Manning but I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem.
3. New York Jets
From a talent standpoint the Jets are probably ahead of the Dolphins on this list but there are plenty of extracurricular that don’t seem to be appealing to Manning. As far as weapons are concerned Manning would have a lot of fun with Santonio Holmes, when he’s not being a moron, Plaxico Burress (if he resigns or if they go after Braylon Edwards if you believe the rumors), Dustin Keller, an amazing weapon at tight end, and Shonn Greene. The Jets also have a good offensive line in place behind C Nick Mangold and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson. The drawbacks? There are many. For starters he would have to put up with Mr. Abrasive Rex Ryan, the New York media always being on his ass, the constant dissention that seems to be occurring in the Jets locker room, and having to share the big city with his younger brother who has recently been the bigger winner. I’m sure the Jets would love to score Manning but they’ve also committed long term time and again to Mark Sanchez, even though he seems to have plateaued, and would need to move his money. I don’t see it in the cards.
4. Seattle Seahawks
I like what the Seahawks have to offer but I don’t think Manning wants to go to the unfamiliar NFC or the Pacific Northwest. Pete Carroll has built a decent little program up there in Seattle after leaving USC in ruins by developing a solid, young offensive line and finding the good in RB Marshawn Lynch. All in all though I don’t think Manning wants to head out to the west coast this late in his career or deal with the inclement weather that tends to strike the Pacific Northwest in the fall. Seahawks would like Manning but I don’t think Manning would want the Seahawks.
5. Arizona Cardinals
I have the Cardinals as fifth on this list but Manning could pull a shocker and pick them based on the fact that they play in a beautiful environment, it’s always warm never a chance of showers or snow, he can get a condo there and simulate the Miami weather, and they have WR Larry Fitzgerald. In my eyes Fitzgerald is the key piece to Manning possibly heading to the desert. If Manning wants to throw to arguably the best wide receiver in football then he needs to look no further than Arizona. The Cardinals made a good run down the stretch this year and almost pulled off a playoff berth with John Skelton at the helm. Manning could easily lead them to a NFC West crown and a playoff berth. The Cards have some pieces in place but I don’t know if they have enough to draw Manning to the NFC. The obvious problem here is the Cards just shelled out $50 million to Kevin Kolb who hasn’t proven yet he can be a number one QB. They’d need to move him before Manning would entertain the thought of heading out to the desert.
6. Washington Redskins
Ah yes, the Redskins. If you’ve been reading the reports put forth by numerous news sources then you know that the Redskins plan on putting a full court press on the All Pro QB. While its well and great that Daniel Snyder has deep pockets and has no problem paying out the nose for Manning the bigger problem here is that there is almost nothing redeeming about the situation in the nation’s capital for Manning to walk in to. Outside of the fact that the Redskin’s are a marquee franchise in the NFL, though if you didn’t watch football during the first Joe Gibbs era you only know the Redskins as a dysfunctional bunch, the current squad is nothing to write home about. There defense has a few playmakers in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan but is otherwise suspect and offensively there’s nothing there. Roy Helu had a nice rookie year but he’s not the type of back you get too jacked up about and their best wide receiver Santana Moss is currently a free agent. Mike Shanahan also isn’t the type of coach that Manning has thrived under, no one would ever confuse his tactics for those of Tony Dungy. As I said before as well the Redskins play in the NFC, con, they aren’t warm weather ideal, con, and Peyton would have to play his brother twice a year, con. I think that about sums up the Redskins chances of landing Peyton and his golden right arm.
Other possibilities that have emerged recently: Denver Broncos, Houston Texans (they’d be the best fit of all if the rumors are true and they are willing to part with Matt Schaub and mortgage the future to win now)
There’s the list of possibilities for Peyton Manning as I see it folks and in the end I see him winding up with the Miami Dolphins. But hey that’s just one man’s opinion let us know where you think Peyton will find himself throwing touchdown passes next year! Until we cross paths again.
Geoff Jablonski
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