Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson made some news during his first press conference with the team when he said he hadn’t sat down and spoken with Peyton Manning during his first hours officially on the job.
Speaking at the Super Bowl Thursday to a group of reporters, Grigson revealed he has sat down with Manning in the weeks since.
“I met with Peyton,” Grigson said. “He came by my office. . . . We had a nice discussion. We spoke for 20 minutes or so. It’s been amicable. It’s been a normal thing. We talked like regular guys, I felt.
“It was an open conversation and I told him what I knew. Whatever I knew, I told him. It was a straightforward, man-to-man conversation. It was fine,” Grigson said.
Grigson admitted that the Manning situation is in a “holding pattern.” He has not watched Manning throw. That figures to change in the coming weeks as Manning’s option bonus date gets closer.
Some other highlights from the session:
1. Grigson indicated that he hasn’t started contract talks with any Colts free agents.
“After the staff is completed, then we tackle the next order of business. Chuck [Pagano] and I need to get together soon and get together soon about who we have on this team . . . after we evaluate our roster in a fair way, then we can move on.
"[Manning] is obviously going to have a major effect on things on how that all plays out. Until that is resolved, we’ll go about business as usual.
2. He doesn’t know whether Ryan Diem or Jeff Saturday will retire.
3. Grigson said he would “love” to keep Pierre Garcon, Robert Mathis, and Reggie Wayne. He called them all three great Colts. Grigson was very straightforward, but he was asked a specific question on these three players. There wasn’t much else he could say.
4. The Colts will likely run a hybrid 4-3/3-4 defense, at least initially.
5. Grigson said it “depends” when asked about possibly starting a rookie quarterback. He said the environment and the player would have to be just right.