Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has, by all appearances, a few more good years left in him. But Colts Vice Chairman Bill Polian says it may be time to start preparing for a future without Manning -- and perhaps time to start looking at quarterbacks in the draft.
“Quarterback’s an issue, probably not a front-burner issue, but an issue nonetheless because while Peyton’s not at the end of his career, it’s approaching faster than it has in the past,” Polian said, per the Indianapolis Star. “I wouldn’t rule that out in the right situation.”
Colts G.M. Chris Polian and coach Jim Caldwell had a private workout with TCU quarterback Andy Dalton on Monday, and if Dalton is still there when the Colts pick in the second round, they might grab him. But Bill Polian says no one should expect the Colts to draft a quarterback in the first round.
“I don’t know that you’re going to find his eventual replacement drafting 22nd,” Polian said. “And whether or not you would use that choice on a quarterback in an unsettled labor situation, where you don’t know what kind of contract that’s going to be signed, is another issue. That said, I don’t think you can dismiss it.”
So if the Colts won’t use their first-round pick this year on a quarterback, when will they acquire Manning’s successor?
“You don’t know,” Polian said, “but you know it’s sometime soon. You begin to think about it.”