Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com raised an interesting point earlier today on Twitter.
“When does the Manning backlash begin?”
The answer could be “very soon,” when fans and media begin to realize that Peyton’s indecision could keep teams on the sidelines in free agency.
Multiple league sources have pointed out already that some teams will wait to see whether they land Peyton before opening the change purse for other players. One guy caught in that dilemma, we’re told, is Dolphins nose tackle Paul Soliai.
Soliai played under the franchise tag in 2011, and he’ll hit the market at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. A league source tells PFT that the Broncos, Dolphins, Chiefs, Colts, 49ers, Patriots, and Falcons are interested.
But three of those teams (Denver, Miami, San Fran) reportedly are (or, at to the Niners, may be) in the Peyton chase. And so, while other teams that aren’t maneuvering for Manning are interested in Soliai, it’s hard to max out the market if half of the interested teams are twiddling their thumbs for Peyton.
The Broncos have the cap space to allow them to start spending while waiting for Peyton. Still, they need to know how to best budget their money, especially if Peyton will be bringing Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark and Jeff Saturday.
Bottom line? While free agency begins in five hours, it may not really get going until Peyton picks a team.