National Football League

Peyton Manning: No plans to retire

Published Jan. 31, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

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Peyton Manning says he has no plans to retire and that his recovery from neck surgery is on schedule.

Manning told a group of reporters that he threw on Tuesday morning and the session went well.

"I really feel good. I continue to make progress every day," Manning told ESPN. "Everything that the doctors have told me has been on point, which is encouraging to me."

Manning's comments come a day after Yahoo! Sports reported that the Colts star had hit a plateau in his rehabilitation, and the slow rate at which the nerves in his arm are healing indicated he might not play anytime soon.

But Manning on Tuesday deflected a question about when he might decide to hang up his football cleats.

"Hard to say, hard to say. (There's) no set timetable," he said. "I've played a long time. I'm grateful for the time that I've played so far, and I have nothing to complain about. How much longer? We'll see."

It's been a tumultuous month for the Colts, and Manning continued to cast a shadow over this week's Super Bowl, the first in Indianapolis.

Most of the Patriots and Giants say they're not paying attention to speculation that Manning's career could be over, but it's hard to miss.

Manning's future with the Indianapolis Colts has dominated headlines in recent weeks, with team owner Jim Irsay facing a decision on whether to pay $28 million to retain the star quarterback.

After last week's public spat between the Colts quarterback and Irsay, the two issued a joint statement in hopes of tamping down publicity leading up to the Super Bowl.

Manning reiterated Tuesday that he expects to sit down with Irsay at some point following Super Bowl XLVI to decide his future.

"I think the sooner the better, I really do," Manning said. "Jim and I talk constantly, we really do. We're in constant communication, and after this week is over, we'll do it, and we'll make a good plan from there. Either way, it's going to be good. I'm at peace, and it'll be a positive thing, I can assure you."

The 35-year-old began throwing in December after the fused vertebrae in his neck healed as expected, but he has not shown any improvement in the velocity of his passes.

Further, two league-affiliated doctors told Yahoo! Sports that it could take a year before Manning knows if he will be able to return and said they would recommend Irsay let go of him.

With Manning sidelined for the entire 2011 season, the Colts finished 2-14 and will select first in April's draft. Most expect the team to select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with that top pick.

NewsCore contributed to this report.