Sources: Peyton Manning may never play football again
According to Jason Cole at Yahoo! Sports and several league sources, we may have seen the last of Peyton Manning on the gridiron.
Two sources close to Manning’s neck rehabilitation process have indicated the nerves in his arm are not healing fast enough as expected which is jeopardizing his NFL playing career. The surgery he had last September that fused the vertebrae in his neck went according to plan which allowed him to begin throwing in December. Unfortunately, he does not have the same zip on his passes that we are all accustomed to seeing which could be problematic come next season.
It is widely regarded that spinal fusion surgery can take over a year before it is known how much strength a person will get back. According to several doctors affiliated with the NFL, it will take Manning almost another full year to find out if his body will allow him to play again. These same doctors have come to the conclusion that it would be insane for Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay to pay the $28 million Manning is owed in March because of how unlikely it is he will play.
If you have any kind of financial background you understand paying Manning as well as the number one overall pick, who is assumed to be Andrew Luck, the millions of dollars he is owed does not make much sense for a team that is trying to rebuild. However, Irsay has a different opinion on this.
“Guys like that come along so rarely,” Irsay said, referring to Manning and Luck. “Even if that means that guy sits for three or four years, you’d certainly think about taking him … you see what Green Bay did with [Brett] Favre and [Aaron] Rodgers and you’d like to be able to do the same thing.”
Irsay brings up a valid point. To have Luck sit behind Manning for a few years could be extremely beneficial for him as well as the Colts. As Irsay pointed out it worked very well for the Packers and if given the same opportunity, who wouldn’t want to do the same thing?
Unfortunately, it does not look like Irsay is going to get his wish. According to sources, Manning hit what doctors and physical therapists refer to as a plateau in his rehabilitation process.
“If you’re getting consistent improvement, then that’s OK. Even if it’s going from lifting 10 pounds to 15 pounds to 20 pounds over a stretch of weeks, that’s fine,” said an accomplished doctor with experience in spinal surgery. “If you hit a plateau, that’s a problem. … Now, I say that, but I also tell patients who have been through it that it can take up to a year to find out exactly how much strength you’re going to get back.”
Everyone close to the situation, including Manning, knew there would be a decline in arm strength but it would get better over time. Since there has been no sign of this yet people are beginning to worry.
“Right now, Peyton is at about six months,” the doctor continued. “He should have a much better idea by July or August just how far he’s going to get … even then, that’s only a part of it. You can tell about 80 percent of how the nerves and the muscles are healing by rehab. What you really have to see is how his arm holds up when he starts to throw. Does he have the same velocity on the 15-yard out? Can he throw the 60-yard pass? Can he throw for 30 minutes before his arm gets tired? Can he throw for an hour? It’s a very complicated process.”
I am sure Manning is frustrated with all the talk about him being physically unable to play, especially when he believes he will make a full recovery in time for next season. The truth is it seems highly unlikely which puts the Colts in a difficult bind.
I witnessed first-hand what happened in Green Bay when the Packers decided to part ways with their franchise quarterback. I understand this is a clearly different situation but nonetheless there will be a resistance by the fan base. Favre forced the Packers hand with his request to retire which made it an easy decision, but when he decided to come back the fans turned on each other.
On one hand, there will be the Colts fans that grew up with Manning as their idol, a living legend, and they will not want to see him leave under any circumstances. On the other hand, there will be the fans that understand it financially does not make sense for Manning to get $28 million to sit out another season especially when there is a good chance he will never be able to play football again. Irsay and the Colts newly installed management will have a mutiny on their hands that we, the public, will get to witness through the media.
Basically, it is an extremely unfortunate situation for all parties involved. Manning is confident he will be able to play again and as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time we have to hope for the same. However, if there is a chance one big hit could paralyze him for the rest of his life, what is there to even talk about?
