“I don’t know what the extent of the injury is,” said former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. “I know Peyton very well. I know he’s very guarded in what he lets the public know. So I don’t know that there’s anything that’s overly accurate, probably, that’s been reported. But my guess is, knowing him, he’ll play Week 1.”
Manning’s playing status undoubtedly will be a leading topic of conversation for NFL analysts as the week progresses. He succeeded Brett Favre as the sport’s durability leader at quarterback when Favre’s iron-man streak ended at 297 games (or 321 games counting the postseason) last December. Manning has started each of his 208 regular season games with the Colts. Including the postseason, his streak is at 227 starts.
It was an eventful offseason for the four-time MVP. Manning was one of the named plaintiffs in the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the franchise owners during the labor dispute between the two sides. After the shutdown of the sport ended in July, he signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the Colts, who had used their exclusive franchise player tag on him earlier in the offseason. The deal pays Manning an average of $23 million per season over its first three seasons.
The neck surgery that Manning, 35, underwent in May was to have a disk problem repaired. It was his second neck surgery in a little more than a year. He underwent a procedure in early 2010 related to a pinched nerve.
Manning is providing few details about his progress, telling reporters good naturedly last week that he’s an advocate of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a medical privacy law.
“I don’t know what HIPAA stands for,” Manning said. “But I believe in it and I practice it.”
Manning said last week his goal is to play against the Texans in the opener. But he also said that he, like everyone else, is in wait-and-see mode regarding his progress.
“I know everybody is into predictions,” Manning said. “Everybody wants to have the breaking news. I just can’t give you any more than what I’m giving you.”
The Colts lured veteran quarterback Kerry Collins out of retirement to join Manning’s backup, Curtis Painter, on their roster. There has been speculation that Colts officials are skeptical about Manning playing the opener. The Colts without Manning might be unusually vulnerable after nine straight years with at least 10 regular season wins.
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