newjerseynewsroom.com

BY DAVE RAGAZZO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The city of Indianapolis will never be the same now that number 18 is no longer under center for the Colts.

It’s the end of an era for the Colts as Peyton Manning was cut on Tuesday by the team after 14 seasons. One of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, Manning will test out free agency for the first time in his career.

Colts owner Jim Irsay said that money was not the driving force behind Manning’s release. The quarterback is attempting to return after missing the entire 2011 season and having three surgeries on his neck in 19 months.

A press conference was held on Wednesday at noon to announce Manning’s release. The Colts went 2-14 in 2011 without him and the organization decided that it wanted to rebuild. After firing nearly the entire coaching staff and general manager, Irsay decided to change quarterbacks as well.

The Colts will most likely look to the draft for their next quarterback since they have the first pick. They will take former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck or former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Manning will be 36 years old this season and some doubt that he will ever be as great as he once was. He has been working out with his former college offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe at Duke University where Cutcliffe is now the head coach.

Duke sources have said that Manning has been partaking in “aggressive” throwing sessions at Duke wearing his Colts helmet and shoulder pads.

Around the league, many players hit their Twitter accounts to say how they felt about the Manning release. Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted, “A friendly reminder that the NFL is a business Peyton = Legend.”

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf also tweeted, “What an unceremonious end to such an amazing career to arguably the greatest to play the QB position, congrats #18 you are truly a legend!!” Manning and Leaf went first and second in the 1998 draft and Leaf was out of the league by 2001.

Longtime Colts center and Manning’s teammate Jeff Saturday commented on the Manning release. The move caught him by surprise and he thought he would never see the day that Manning would play with another team.

“I never thought it was a foregone conclusion," Saturday said to the Associated Press Tuesday night. "I was always hopeful they'd get something worked out, and that he would be back in a horseshoe, but it doesn't look that's going to happen."

Manning is expected to have a long list of suitors with the Jets possibly in the mix for the future Hall of Famer.