The talk about the Miami Dolphins as the landing spot for Peyton Manning is not going away.
We’ve already heard that the Dolphins are interested in Manning if he becomes available, and now comes word from Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel, citing an unnamed NFL source, that Miami is on the short list of places Manning would like to play. Manning will almost certainly become a free agent before March 8 because the Colts will decline to pay him a $28 million bonus due that day.
Manning and his wife own a place in Miami, and they’d reportedly like to live there. From a football perspective, it makes a lot of sense: The Dolphins are a team that could win immediately with an upgrade at quarterback. On defense and special teams Miami was solid last season.
Perhaps the best news for Manning is that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has insisted the team will get better at quarterback and that he’ll pay whatever it takes.
Obviously, any time we talk about Manning’s future we’re getting ahead of ourselves, because we don’t even know if he has a future: Although doctors have reportedly told him that his neck is sufficiently healed that it’s safe for him to play, that doesn’t mean that he’s had enough nerve regeneration that his arm is -- or ever will be -- strong enough to play quarterback at a high level.
But if Manning can play, the chatter that he’d play in a Dolphins uniform isn’t going away.