Manning’s future

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts will file for divorce today. To me, there hasn’t been a player departure from a team this significant since Joe Montana left San Francisco for Kansas City. And, no, I’m not forgetting Brett Favre.

The entire story has an ironic twist. Manning is leaving because the Colts are set to draft his replacement, Andrew Luck. But if Manning had not been injured this past season, the Colts would have come nowhere close to claiming the first-round draft pick. Manning would have led them to too many wins.

So where does Peyton go from here? The way I see it, there are only three NFL teams — the New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints — who should have absolutely no interest in Manning whatsoever. All the rest are in play. I keep hearing talk about Washington and Miami, but I think Manning wants to win too much to go a team where his chances of winning are much less than they were with Indianapolis. I also keep hearing talk about the New York Jets. That would be a great destination for more reasons than the fact that Peyton could take that team to the Super Bowl. Imagine both the Manning Brothers in New York? Now that would be fun for all concerned, including fans.

But I gotta tell ya, if I’m with the Steeler organization, I would take Manning over Ben Rothlisberger. Manning could take that team to even grander heights. Manning makes the Steelers instant Super Bowl favorites.

He could have the same dramatic impact with the Cowboys. Tony Romo wouldn’t want to stay here, playing behind Manning, so Jerry Jones would have to trade his former starting QB. But he should be able to get significant defensive help in such a trade, probably with some future draft choices thrown in. Instant upgrade to Super Bowl contender. And I imagine Manning would relish a helmet with a star as much as one with a horseshoe.