Peyton Manning Coy About Return To Indy
Added on Jan 24, 2012 by Jack Thurman in
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Peyton Manning must have a lot of free time on his hands these days because the Hall of Fame quarterback has become quite the soap opera loving diva of late. Manning, of course, missed the entire 2012 season following neck surgery and was on the sidelines to watch as the team imploded from a playoff fixture to the worst in the league. Despite not being able to contribute personally, he along with his ‘people’ huffed and puffed whenever the Colts started to discuss Andrew Luck–a game changing quarterback who is the presumptive first pick in the NFL draft. Now he’s talking again, suggesting that his future lies elsewhere and not Indianapolis.
There’s a lot of money at stake to be sure–the Colts are trying to decide whether to pick up a $28 million option on Manning for next year. Manning apparently isn’t happy about the recent house cleaning in the front office:
“I’m not in a very good place for healing, let’s say that/ It’s not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody’s walking around on eggshells. I don’t recognize our building right now. There’s such complete and total change.”
Manning has already met with new GM Ryan Grigson who indicated that owner Jim Irsay will have the final call on whether or not Peyton remains a Colt. Manning says that he’s not going to start a lobbying campaign:
“I don’t want to get into some kind of fan campaign with the owner, but I think it’s well documented that I want to play in the same place my whole career. It’s been a privilege to play here. I love the fans, the city, the transformation of the fans, how our place has become the toughest stadium to play in, the fact our fans wear more jerseys to games than anybody else. It’s been fun to be a part of that.”
“But I understand how it works. I understand tough decisions have to be made. There’s personal and there’s business and that’s where we’ve got to separate the two. I’ve seen other guys leave places and it was personal. I’ve invested too much into this city for that to happen. We live here, we’ve given lots of time and money to the community and our church, and that’s never going to change. Nothing changes that.”
“Whatever happens, happens. I can’t give you a prediction because Jim and I will sit down at some point and he’ll get a feel for where I am and I’ll get a sense of what direction he wants to go. Right now, I have no idea.”
Manning reiterated that he’s not happy with the turnover currently facing the team:
“I guess it’s the reality of the football world, just not something I’ve had to deal with very often. But I’m in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody’s being evaluated and I’m no different. It’s not the best environment,” he told the newspaper.”
“I just want to pay tribute to all those guys. It’s unfortunate because so many of them have been such a big part of so many big wins here, and this is so … sudden. Their keys didn’t work the next day. There’s no other way to do it? I don’t know. That’s hard to see, all these people leaving.”
“And I may be behind them. Who knows?”
