Did Indianapolis make a huge mistake?

[jap1]

Only time will tell at this point, but part of me is thinking, if all these teams were able to work Peyton Manning out and were satisfied with his progress, why would the Colts release him.

Yes, I know when he was out the team sucked and they needed to rebuild that team because they were horrible all around. But if I were the GM. I would have kept Manning and rebuilt around him, thats one less BIG hole to fill.

Think about it, if they decided they were keeping Manning, it would probably mean they did not want to pick Andrew Luck. That means they would probably be open to trading out of the #1 pick. Imagine how much easier it would be to rebuild if Washington was willing to give you 3 extra 1st round picks over 3 years and whatever other picks they sent to St. Louis for the 2nd pick. If you are worried about trying to compete NOW and not in 2-3 years after these new draft picks learn how to play in the NFL, then trade those 1st round picks for established young up and comers in the league.

Maybe Manning's arm is done. But a big part of me thinks it isnt, and that part of me also thinks that the Colts were idiots for cutting him loose.

[AussieChiefsFan]

It would've cost a lot. But I definately see what youre saying.

[chiefnut]

if i were king of the forrrrrest [colts gm] i would have kept manning, traded the #1 pick, beefed up the O line and grabbed either a QB like flynn in FA and/or in the draft 2nd round on...build for the future and salvage this year. the extra picks from the trade would go along way to shore up this team.

[Seek]

if i were king of the forrrrrest [colts gm] i would have kept manning, traded the #1 pick, beefed up the O line and grabbed either a QB like flynn in FA and/or in the draft 2nd round on...build for the future and salvage this year. the extra picks from the trade would go along way to shore up this team.

What did the Colts have last year that makes you think they could Salvage this year even with Manning. The Colts were on the decline even with Manning the year before.

Keeping Manning would only delay what needs to be done, and keep Manning in a situation that he does not need to be in.

[70 chiefsfan70]

And although the 1 spot is only one up on the 2 spot in the draft, one might think they could have gotten say a couple of extra 2nd round picks from the 'skins. Seems they don't need any picks... hey maybe we could trade someone with them we don't need, we could use a couple extra picks.

You are exactly right, the #1 spot has a lot more value then the #2 does. They would likely have gotten a second and third more then the Rams got, possibly more, depending on the spot of the first round picks.
In lots of instances draft picks are more valuable then money itself.

I'm sure the biggest reason they let Manning go was not because of his surgery, but because of the 28 million he had coming to him. No QB is worth that! That is far too much invested in one player, that can have a season ending injury at any given play.

Time will tell, but I believe The Colts could have done much better.

[OPLookn]

I think that they could have done better by trading the #1 pick and got compensated say like the rams did. If Manning was too much risk for them they could have signed Tebowe, Flynn, or any of several others. Then with the 3 extra first round pick they could have one heck of a team. Plus they could have used the extra picks trade up and get a QB next year. It appears that there may be 4 maybe 5 good qbs in the 2013 draft. This way they could have a good qb with less then half the cost of Luck, and with the trade they could build the rest of the team.

I've been looking at this for a while too and that's why I've been saying get all the pieces in place this year then sell the farm and get a franchise QB next year. Cassel will have one more year on his contract and then we'll be set.

To me if we go ahead and draft a tackle that signifies that Pioli is drafting a year ahead. I'd also see us grab a LG somewhere in the draft like we did Asamoah and let him learn for a year too. Then we let Albert and Lilja walk (I think both are free agents next year) and plug these guys in. Then we've got our two new guys, Hudson, Asamoah and Winston. Sell the farm and get a franchise QB and then away we go! It's just a thought and I doubt it holds water but you never know...

[azchiefsfan]

As has been mentioned, in a somewhat meandering way, the only way the Colts could have got any picks for Manning was to have another team assume his contract or to have picked up the $28 million bonus to keep him under contract so they could negotiate with another team for picks. What would have been the point? That $28 million would pay for 3 or 4 top free agents or to buy the first round draft picks outright. Severing the contract was the only way to free up the $50 million total bonus/salary they would have been responsible for.

[70 chiefsfan70]

As has been mentioned, in a somewhat meandering way, the only way the Colts could have got any picks for Manning was to have another team assume his contract or to have picked up the $28 million bonus to keep him under contract so they could negotiate with another team for picks. What would have been the point? That $28 million would pay for 3 or 4 top free agents or to buy the first round draft picks outright. Severing the contract was the only way to free up the $50 million total bonus/salary they would have been responsible for.

I never mentioned that they should trade Manning, I'm not sure any team would have given them anything for Manning, considering his high price and the risk he would be.

I was saying trade the #1 pick, like the Rams did. They could have easily got more then the Rams did.

Bottom line is the Colts were in over their heads and had to dump him, his salary was killing them, and has been for sometime now. They could not have dumped him, because of the fans, except that he was injured, and Luck appears to be a great one.

I still think the Colts as a team would rebound much quicker if they had traded the first pick on 2012.

[chief31]

I think they absolutely made a big mistake.

Peyton Manning took them to two Super Bowls, and is still young enough to keep it going for a few more years.

I say you absolutely stick with that guy. Trade that pick for several future 1st round picks, and look to build. When Manning goes, you have already have a football team built, minus one position.

Of course, if Manning, or Luck, should have problems, (injury, or just plain flopping) then it tells the story.

But the likelihood of Luck doing what Manning has done are very thin.

[jap1]

What did the Colts have last year that makes you think they could Salvage this year even with Manning. The Colts were on the decline even with Manning the year before.

Keeping Manning would only delay what needs to be done, and keep Manning in a situation that he does not need to be in.

My one argument against that idea is that last year the colts had pretty much everything that they had the year before, except Manning. So, if they brought Manning back, maybe they would become playoff contenders again? Maybe? We will never know now.

[jap1]

As has been mentioned, in a somewhat meandering way, the only way the Colts could have got any picks for Manning was to have another team assume his contract or to have picked up the $28 million bonus to keep him under contract so they could negotiate with another team for picks. What would have been the point? That $28 million would pay for 3 or 4 top free agents or to buy the first round draft picks outright. Severing the contract was the only way to free up the $50 million total bonus/salary they would have been responsible for.

Why not ask him to renegotiate his contract. He took a 9 million dollar pay cut from what he was supposed to make with the Colts. So why not go up to him and say, "look, you (and a couple other guys) are the only guys getting it done on this team, we need to sign better players to get YOU to the superbowl again, but we dont have the money for it, lets restructure your contract?" Maybe they did and he told them to eff off. Maybe they missed out ... who knows ...