It’s actually a little surprising there hasn’t been more concern this month about Peyton Manning’s surgically repaired neck.
He hasn’t practiced in camp and the Colts backup quarterbacks have taken turns looking inept in the preseason. Despite that, it took some odd tweets from Colts owner Jim Irsay to really make the Colts fanbase start to worry.
Prepare for games without Manning? Find a new QB on Twitter? This doesn’t sound good.
The reality, according to Colts president Bill Polian, is that no one knows when Manning will return. That’s not a huge shock considering the unique nature of the injury.
“Bottom line, we truly do not know when he will be ready,” Colts president Bill Polian told ESPN Saturday. “Once the nerves regenerate properly, he’ll be ready. When that happens, he’ll be ready to ramp up immediately. It’s impossible to predict.”
G.M. Chris Polian made similar comments to Peter King last week. Colts center Jeff Saturday told King that he believed Manning would be ready for the season opener.
If that happens, Manning will have to get ready without much practice time. Colts coach Jim Caldwell confirmed Manning hasn’t been cleared by doctors yet.
Meanwhile, Polian doesn’t seem to know what to make of Irsay’s tweets.
“Our owner is the owner. I can’t speak to that,” Polian said.