Peyton Manning Rumors: Where Will The Colts Quarterback End Up In 2012?

Now that Peyton Manning has been let go by the Indianapolis Colts, expect around a dozen NFL teams to start pursuing one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. A lot of teams have an urgent need at quarterback, and there are plenty of teams who are willing to take a chance in Manning to try and take a swing at a potential Super Bowl run if Manning can regain his health.

But one of those teams withdrawing themselves from the Manning sweepstakes are the San Francisco 49ers. Looks like the organization is committed to keeping Alex Smith as their starter and work with the team they have.

RT @KNBR: #49ers GM Trent Baalke on KNBR earlier today: "We haven't had Peyton in here, nor are we talking about those things internally."

— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) March 6, 2012

I guess it wouldn't really make much sense for the 49ers to get Manning. Why does Alex Smith need such a high-profile backup anyway?

To discuss Manning and the Colts, head on over to Stampede Blue. To talk about Manning not being pursued by the 49ers, check out Niners Nation.

ESPN's Adam Schefter created a video that tries to break down which teams he thinks Peyton Manning could end up with. Schefter name-checks every NFL franchise as he whittles them down to the two favorites and the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers come up along the way.

Here's what Schefter had to say about the Raiders and 49ers specifically:

The Bay Area would be attractive but the 49ers seem determined to stick with Alex Smith while the Raiders have already invested in Carson Palmer, so San Francisco and Oakland are not expected to be options.

Schefter thinks it's ultimately a battle between the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins with Miami as the favorite. Of course, it's still way too early in the process to know for sure and that's assuming Manning is in fact released by the Colts.

To discuss Manning being on the 49ers, go to Niners Nation. To discuss Manning being a Raider, check out Silver and Black Pride.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has been and is likely to be a focal point of Super Bowl week and the upcoming NFL offseason, with questions abounding about what's to happen next. His agent, Tom Condon, spoke with the NFL Network on Friday in Indianapolis to discuss the injured quarterback's current situation and what the next step very well might be.

First, Condon explains where Peyton is in his healing process.

Per Jason La Canfora on Twitter:

Tom Condon says Manning's fusion healed and he's sound and can take a hit. But he's still rehabbing the nerve

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 3, 2012

Condon mentioned that latest injury report was a response that it would be foolish or dangerous for him to play football again. That's great to hear, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be suiting up anytime soon:

Condon says obviously Manning wouldn't be effective if he tried to play now but thinks in a few months he could be effective

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 3, 2012

Condon would also note that it could take up to a year for Peyton to be ready to play again, putting him on schedule to miss another full season.

The Colts are also considering pushing back the date of Peyton's big bonus, $28 million to be exact, which Condon says they are fine with. Still, he would admit he doesn't know when a meeting could take place:

Condon says "this is a tough time" for Irsay and Manning. Doesn't know exact timing of meeting but suspects sooner rather than later

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 3, 2012

For more on the Peyton/Colts situation, head over to Stampede Blue. For more on the Super Bowl & the NFL, check out SB Nation's NFL hub.

For awhile, it looked as if Peyton Manning might not be able to get back to action and every play a snap of NFL football ever again. The Colts quarterback missed the entire 2011 NFL season, and with Indianapolis ending up with the worst record in the NFL, they now have the rights to the number one draft pick, which probably means they take Stanford signal-caller Andrew Luck. That probably means the end for Manning in Indianapolis and that he'd have to play the rest of his career elsewhere. You know, IF he has a rest of his career.

The latest news seems to indicate that Manning could very well play some more. That doesn't mean Manning is out of the clear. His arm is probably giving him more issues, which could endanger his ability to play. But it's still a better situation than where we were with Manning a few days ago.

Manning on the San Francisco 49ers has always been a fun rumor to ponder, but it's unlikely that Jim Harbaugh would go out and try and get him. Harbaugh is probably happy with the development he's gotten out of Alex Smith and is ready to stick witih him.

To discuss Manning being on the 49ers, go to Niners Nation.

We may have seen the last of Peyton Manning in the National Football League.

Sources have told Yahoo! Sports that Manning's recovery from neck surgery is going so poorly, that he might have to retire because of it, thus ending any interest the San Francisco 49ers would have in pursuing him.

According to the sources, it isn't Manning's vertebrae that are giving him problems but his nerves are not healing as quickly as Manning and the Colts would like. Two sources are afraid that the velocity on his passes will never return after throwing the ball since December and still not seeing any change.

A doctor familiar with Manning's surgery had this to say.

"If you're getting consistent improvement, then that's OK. Even if it's going from lifting 10 pounds to 15 pounds to 20 pounds over a stretch of weeks, that's fine," said a doctor who has not seen Manning but has a background in spinal surgery. "If you hit a plateau, that's a problem. ... Now, I say that, but I also tell patients who have been through it that it can take up to a year to find out exactly how much strength you're going to get back.

"Right now, Peyton is at about six months. He should have a much better idea by July or August just how far he's going to get ... even then, that's only a part of it. You can tell about 80 percent of how the nerves and the muscles are healing by rehab. What you really have to see is how his arm holds up when he starts to throw. Does he have the same velocity on the 15-yard out? Can he throw the 60-yard pass? Can he throw for 30 minutes before his arm gets tired? Can he throw for an hour? It's a very complicated process."

The Peyton Manning saga goes on. And there could be trouble in getting a happy ending from this story.

The San Francisco 49ers might be a potential suitor if he's healthy. But it's starting to look like he'll have real trouble at getting back on the field. Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports reports that Manning is having trouble healing the nerves in his arm.

The nerves in Manning’s arm are not healing as quickly as hoped and, worse, don’t appear to be progressing at enough of a rate to indicate that he will play again, according to two sources with knowledge of Manning’s rehabilitation from neck surgery. The vertebrae in his neck that were fused have healed as expected and Manning began throwing in December. But he hasn’t shown improvement in velocity on his passes, and the two sources fear he likely never will again.

Jeff McLane goes a step further.

I was going to do a should the #Eagles consider Peyton Manning story, but the whispers coming out of Indy are that his career is over.

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) January 31, 2012

The issue with Manning seems to be a serious one. And it's definitely one that the 49ers aren't likely to take a risk on at any point. San Francisco has committed to Alex Smith, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to invest a lot into a quarterback that might not be assured of being there and playing for a long period of time.

To discuss Manning with Colts fans, head on over to Stampede Blue. To think about Manning and the 49ers fans, check out Niners Nation.