Peyton Manning’s Neck Improving
Added on Dec 02, 2011 by Jack Thurman in
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The 0-11 Indianapolis Colts haven’t had much good news this year, but they did get a welcome boost on Friday from their injured superstar Peyton Manning. Manning’s medical team has indicated that his neck fusion has completely healed. Manning is planning to ramp up his rehab and practice and will begin throwing soon.
Manning details what’s next:
“Throwing will be part of the next progression. I will be doing some throwing and I have been doing some throwing. But now we’re going to ramp it up a little more.”
Colts’ VP Bill Polian is also pleased with the news:
“It’s great news that the fusion has healed. It’s on schedule, so we just keep going from here.”
Head coach Jim Caldwell sounded too shell shocked by the Colts’ horrible season to get too excited by the news:
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I just know they’ve been pretty cautious with what they’ve allowed him to do. I just know he’s not practicing today. I know that.”
Manning also confirmed that there’s no ‘timetable’ for a return:
“There is no schedule, there never has been. I think we have checkpoints here, and I don’t know when the next one is. But I hope they don’t announce it, so y’all won’t be here on decision day like Wednesday supposedly was.”
Manning was also asked about the team’s 2012 draft where Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is considered to be the best player available:
“He (Bill Polian) and I have not had a conversation about the 2012 draft. Bill keeps the players informed on a lot of things, but I’ve never been informed about who we’re going to draft and I think that would be inappropriate.”
Polian says that there has been some discussion about the Colts’ future plans:
“We haven’t talked specifics. We don’t know where we’re headed specifically. There’s a long way to go until April.”
“We’ve had discussions about it. He knows what our plans are going forward. He understands what the situation is. We’ve got a lot of work to do to rebuild our team, and all of that is part and parcel of a larger plan. He’s well aware of where we’re going. I’m sure he’s anxious to be part of it.”
For now, the Colts brutal season continues with a very tough game at New England. Indy is a +20 point NFL betting underdog with the total set at 48.
