National Football League

Manning to help Colts in coaches booth

Published Sep. 23, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Injured Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning will attempt to assist his team from the coaches booth Sunday night.

Manning, still recovering from offseason neck surgeries, will work alongside quarterbacks coach Ron Turner high above the field at Lucas Oil Stadium as the Colts look for their first win of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers, The Indianapolis Star reported.

"My first obligation to the team is to get myself healthy," Manning told The Star. "But I do believe that [since] I'm not on the active roster, I have an obligation to help the team in some capacity.

"This is new to me," he added. "But I want to be a resource. I want to help."

Manning, who had three surgeries in 19 months on his bothersome neck, has been making appearances at Colts' practice this week, mostly walking laps around the team's indoor training facility.

The four-time NFL MVP is out indefinitely as he recovers from his latest procedure, conducted Sept. 8.

The nagging injury forced Manning to miss his first game in 14 seasons. He previously made 208 regular-season starts — second only to Brett Favre's NFL-record streak of 297 games — after being drafted by the Colts with the first overall pick in 1998.

Indianapolis will hope to get the 11-time Pro Bowler back in the starting lineup as soon as possible before its season slides out of control.

Manning, 35, signed a five-year, $90 million contract in July. The deal contained an average annual salary of $18 million, tying him with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as the NFL's highest paid player.