As the one-year anniversary of the release of Peyton Manning approaches, our buddy Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star is teasing us all via Twitter with snippets from what appears to be a wide-ranging and eye-opening interview with Colts owner Jim Irsay.
Here’s the first tweet that made me do the Kramer head jerk: Irsay says that, in 2004, G.M. Bill Polian wanted to trade Peyton.
We’ll have to wait for the article to get more information regarding the reasons for Polian’s pitch. It could be that he realized Peyton, whose rookie contract had expired, wanted more money than the Colts could justify paying. Or it could be that there was a team that Polian believed would make a Herschel Walker-style offer.
Either way, it didn’t happen; eight years ago tomorrow, the Colts signed Peyton to a $99.2 million contract with $34.5 million to sign. Manning had an MVP season in 2004, one of the best any quarterback ever has had. Two years later, the Colts won a Super Bowl.
So, sometimes, the best decisions are the ones that aren’t made. It remains to be seen how Polian changed his mind on the decision he apparently made nine years ago.
