Colts reportedly decide to part ways with Peyton Manning

It's all over but the shouting in Indianapolis—and there will be plenty, if reports are correct that the Colts will announce their decision to let franchise quarterback Peyton Manning walk away as an unrestricted free agent.

It would not be an unexpected decision, but it would end the 14-year term of Manning with the team he led to a Super Bowl title and a second appearance in the NFL title game.

 The root causes will be Manning's neck surgeries, the third of which forced him to miss the 2011 season; and a $28 million bonus owed him later this week.


A press conference is scheduled for noon ET Wednesday, presumably to announce the breakup. News of the split was first reported by ESPN's Chris Mortensen. It is believed both Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay will attend.

"We're gonna do this the right way. We'll talk to you guys tomorrow," Manning said after he and Colts owner Jim Irsay arrived in Indianapolis late Tuesday.

 The two flew in from Florida on Irsay's private jet.
Manning's older brother, Cooper, told USA Today earlier Tuesday that Peyton had informed him he was moving on.

"Peyton and I talked today and had a good chat," Cooper Manning was quoted as saying. Cooper spoke with the newspaper by telephone from his New Orleans home. "He's going through kind of an emotional time right now. Until it was over, he was a Colt through and through."

Sporting News Colts correspondent Mike Chappell, reporting for the The Indianapolis Star, wrote that Manning would be released barring an "11th-hour change of heart" by Irsay.

"It’s one of those situations where Peyton wants to stay there and (Irsay) wants him to stay, but because of the circumstances, it’s hard to find a solution where he (Manning) stays," according to a source Chappell said has direct knowledge of the situation.

Thursday is the last day the Colts can decide on Manning's bonus, but the decision can be made before that day. That appears to be the case.
 
Since being the first overall pick in 1998 draft, Manning has been among the NFL's elite quarterbacks. He is a four-time league MVP, breaking Colts career records while leading them to 11 playoff appearances. He also was a Super Bowl MVP.

Until the 2011 season, he had never missed a start. That ended 19 months ago, when Manning had a third neck surgery, in which two vertebrae were fused. His slow recovery and the Colts' abysmal season kept him out of action.

Manning finally began to turn the corner in the offseason, after doctors cleared him to resume workouts. He has spent time at Duke University, working with Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe, who was his handler at Tennessee. Reports from those workouts have been positive.