Surely the timing couldn’t be better for Peyton Manning. The surgeon who performed surgery on Manning’s neck, Dr. Robert Watkins, has cleared Manning to play football. A spokesman for the doctor released a statement to reporters Thursday night.
However, the Indianapolis Colts do not seem to be swayed by the news and said that it really not anything new. Manning was cleared back in December to start practicing. The team doctors will still have to give their blessing for Manning to play and that has not happened yet. There is no sign from the Colts on when that could happen, either.
The report from Manning’s doctor does give credence to Manning’s statement earlier this week that his recovery is right on schedule. Manning has had three neck surgeries in the last 19 months. The last one was in September last year and surgeons fused two of his vertebrae together.
There has been a lot of speculation this week on whether Manning’s $28 million roster bonus will be paid in March. In addition, rumors about Manning’s possible retirement have been rampant. This had put Peyton Manning on the center stage in a week that Eli Manning, his brother, probably expected to occupy that stage. Eli is set to lead the New York Giants on Sunday at the Super Bowl.
However, when the big game is played in Indianapolis, it’s difficult to keep Peyton out of the spotlight. He’d be there even if there wasn’t all the speculation about his career. The Colts will most likely use their No.1 draft pick this year to pick up Manning’s replacement and that will likely be Andrew Luck from Stanford. The Colts have made a lot of changes after their 2-14 season, including their head coach and general manager. The owner of the Colts, Jim Irsay, made it very clear that while Manning may have received clearance from Dr. Watkins, he has not passed a team physical or given clearance by the team’s doctor.
