National Football League

Column: Time for Colts to face future with Luck

Published Dec. 13, 2011 5:21 p.m. ET

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The drama was gone by the first drive of the game, not that anyone expected the Indianapolis Colts to be competitive Sunday in Baltimore. Another loss, another miserable performance, and the countdown to imperfection still ticks away.

That Peyton Manning will not play a down this season is now a given. That he may never play again for the Colts - a prospect that was once unthinkable - is now very much a part of any conversation about the most hapless team in the NFL.

There's still three more games to lose before the Colts gain a measure of notoriety by joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only NFL teams to go 0-16 in a season. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas are split on whether it will happen, though the play of quarterback Dan Orlovsky and others against the Ravens suggest money wagered on the possibility could bring in some extra cash for the holidays.

If there was ever a sure thing, though, it's that the Colts will turn ineptitude to their advantage by taking Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft. They can't afford not to, because the Stanford quarterback is as much a lock to be a star in the NFL as Manning was when the Colts last had the top pick in 1998.

The question then becomes what happens to the man who has been the face of the franchise for more than a decade. The self-deprecating quarterback who made the Colts perennial contenders and took them to two Super Bowls, winning one.

A certain Hall of Famer with a suddenly very uncertain future.

The good news for Colts fans is the decision won't be long in the making. Manning is due a $28 million bonus payment in early March, and by then owner Jim Irsay surely will have tweeted his intentions about a player who not only resurrected the Colts but helped Irsay build a brand new stadium.

Do you keep a 36-year-old quarterback who had three neck operations in the last 19 months and missed an entire season because it just seems like the right thing to do? Overpay at the quarterback position at the expense of not filling other gaping holes on the team out of respect for everything Manning has done for the franchise and the city?

No, and no. Gratitude only goes so far in the NFL.

Business decisions must be made, as hard as they may be.

The Green Bay Packers didn't understand that a few years ago when they let Aaron Rodgers stagnate on the sidelines for three seasons while Brett Favre dictated his terms of employment with the team. Favre gave them one last great year, but it came at the expense of the development of their quarterback of the future.

Manning might have a great year left in him, too, though his slow recovery from his neck problems would give any general manager some pause. Still, the clock is ticking on his career and the Colts don't have the luxury of time to rebuild behind him - especially if they spend so much at quarterback that they can't keep pending free agents like Jeff Saturday, Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis.

They also can't draft Luck and expect him to sit and wait for his turn. Make him the No. 1 pick and he has to play, just as Cam Newton is playing for the Panthers and Andy Dalton for the Bengals.

Manning could always offer to restructure the contract he signed before this season, of course, to help the Colts out. He already made some $25 million this season without taking a snap, and might be willing to consider a lesser payment as he works his way back from injury.

That still doesn't solve the problem of having two quarterbacks wanting to play. And Manning's father, former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, suggested in a radio interview earlier this week that the arrangement would not work.

''I don't think it'd necessarily be great for either one,'' the elder Manning said. ''I think Andrew's the type of mature player . . . he can walk right in. I mean, these other three or four guys that are playing this year, (if) they can walk in and contribute, Andrew can, too.''

Archie Manning later backtracked and said his son and Luck could co-exist on the Colts. Team vice chairman Bill Polian said last month that Peyton Manning believes the same thing, and that he would be OK with the Colts using a pick on a high quality quarterback.

The reality is drafting Luck and keeping Manning is a situation that might last a year, at best. After that, it wouldn't be fair to Luck to keep him from getting quality playing time and it would be just as unfair for Manning to face a future where he might not be the starting quarterback.

Far better to cut ties before the $28 million bonus is due and let Manning become a free agent. Use the money on contracts that will make the team younger and better.

Give Manning a fresh start somewhere else. Give the Colts a chance to build for the future.

And always remember, it's just a business.

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Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg

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