Update: Jim Irsay
@JimIrsay (via Twitter)
"Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for The Indianapolis Colts. Team statement coming on Friday."
Let the off-season quarterback carousel begin! ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that two doctors have officially medically cleared Peyton Manning to play. Both Dr. Robert Watkins, who performed the neck surgery, and the Indianapolis Colts team neurosurgeon have given Manning the OK to resume his NFL career.
They have said it's no longer a safety matter and just a performance issue. Manning still needs to rebuild the muscles in his arm, but ESPN sources say that Manning is healthy enough to play this Sunday if he needed to. Check out the full ESPN article here.
Manning still has to continue rehabbing in order to get his arm strength back up to the standard he's used to, but it sounds like Manning is going to be healthy and will play next season.
Manning is likely to be released by the Colts as he is due a $28 million roster bonus on March 8th, before the new league year officially begins. That means if the Colts want to trade him, they'd have to pay him the $28 million first.
The Redskins have been heavily linked with Manning since the end of the regular season. Things just got one step closer to Manning becoming an unrestricted free agent on the open market...