Cardinals Won’t Go After Peyton Manning?
The writing has been on the wall since before the 2-14 Indianapolis Colts got their first win of the 2011 season. The team was entering rebuilding mode, and the torch at quarterback would (at least in some manner) be passed from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck.
As the weeks have gone by, it’s only gotten clearer how close Manning is to an unceremonious exit. While that’s troubling for Colts fans to think about, it’s music to quarterback-needy teams. However, according to Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic, you can forget about one of those teams being the Arizona Cardinals.
Per Bickley, the Cardinals probably should at least consider going after Manning, but they almost certainly won’t. Bickley believes the Cardinals are “too cheap” to pursue him, while they already have money and time invested in their huge acquisition from last off-season, Kevin Kolb.
Bickley made the interesting observation that Jeff Fisher (now with the Rams) would suddenly be back in football against Peyton Manning, who he faced on a yearly basis with his Tennessee Titans.
The NFC West would arguably turn hands, going from San Francisco to Arizons, and rendering St. Louis and Seattle irrelevant.
However, I’m with Bickley. The Cardinals are on the list. They’re a possibility, but they’re not the likely suitor. From the looks of it, it’s down to the two most serious contenders, the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers, with the Miami Dolphins quietly bidding from afar.
Ultimately, I still then it’s the 49ers who get their guy and complete their make-over. But as everything has been to do with Manning these days, we’ll just have to wait and see.
