Colts QB Peyton Manning cleared to resume NFL career - Ingles

And yet again, news about this city's greatest sporting icon has forced Super Bowl XLVI to take a back seat.

QB Peyton Manning has been cleared to resume his NFL career by the doctor who performed his neck fusion surgery in September, but the future of the Colts star quarterback remains in limbo.

Manning still hasn't been cleared by Colts doctors, beyond the clearance weeks ago to throw and increase the intensity of his rehabilitation. It is unclear when Manning will be checked again by Colts doctors.

Late Thursday night, Colts owner Jim Irsay posted on his Twitter page, "Peyton has not passed our physical nor has he been cleared to play for The Indianapolis Colts. Team statement coming on Friday."

Nonetheless, Manning recently was cleared by Los Angeles-based specialist Robert Watkins, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak. Watkins and Colts neurosurgeon Hank Feuer cleared Manning in December to throw and engage in more aggressive rehabilitation.

"If you were my own son, I'd tell (you) to go play," Feuer told the four-time MVP, per an ESPN report.

Manning missed the entire 2011 season after getting the procedure done by Watkins, his third surgery in a 19-month span. Manning is due a $28 million bonus from the Colts next month, a decision node that could dictate whether he has a future with a team expected to select Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first pick of the 2012 draft.

"I don't know what's going to happen with Peyton. I know he is rehabbing," Giants QB Eli Manning, Peyton's younger brother, said Thursday. "He is going to try to get better. I know he wants to continue to play football, if that's an option. The No. 1 priority for him is to get a 100%. Until he gets to that position, it's tough to say what is going to happen."

Watkins' latest examination of the 14-year veteran reportedly revealed that his neck is structurally sound enough to play in an NFL game, though Manning's famous rocket right arm may not have the requisite nerve regeneration for him to attain his lofty level of play for several more weeks.

Manning was said to have a throwing session with Colts WRs Anthony Gonzalez and Blair White on Tuesday, the same day Manning refuted a report he would be forced to retire and that he instead fully planned to play in 2012.

Colts owner Jim Irsay didn't want to reveal any timetable Wednesday as to when he plans to decide Manning's future in Indianapolis, the place where Manning was drafted first overall in 1998.

"We'll definitely sit down and talk after the Super Bowl," Irsay said. "We've talked already. In terms of a timeline, I don't see that being a factor. I think it's something that I would imagine would go into early March in terms of us having a conversation.

"It's a serious medical thing. It's a very complicated medical issue. ... One of the things is you just haven't seen this in an NFL quarterback at all. When you try to consult doctors literally worldwide in terms of what are the expectations, what are the dangers, the risks, the aspects of coming back from it, no one can give you a definitive answer."

Irsay said his decision will boil down to his comfort with Manning's safety and the level of performance he reclaims.

"I've said from the beginning that it is a two-phase medical aspect," he said. "It is, can he return to play at a really high level, with what his expectations are? That is the only level that he wants to be. Can he drill it in Foxborough in January when it's 10 degrees outside for 50 yards? Is he going to be back to the Hall of Fame level that he expects to play at?

"I think the second issue has always been the health and the risk of going back onto the field. So I think there are two separate issues, and they are complicated issues. ... As the Super Bowl ends and we go into February and get into early March he and I will continue to talk about it and see where we are at."

Irsay did say he was 0pen to altering the March 8 deadline to pay the next bonus in Manning's contract. Regardless, he acknowledged the difficulty of the decision he faces.

"I think it is emotionally draining on the fans, because no one wants to talk about reality or truth," he said. "It is better to think about the 'what ifs' and that sort of thing, so it is hard on the whole aspect of things.

"I think that, like I said before, my responsibility when we go in the locker room and open the day, and I know Peyton feels the same way as many of our great competitors that have been on our team as players, coaches or anything, my responsibility is to make sure that the circle is as strong as it can be to win. That is where the responsibility lies."

New Colts GM Ryan Grigson likely will be more instrumental in scouting Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III than determining Manning's future, but he said Thursday he has now met with his incumbent QB.

"We had a nice discussion and we spoke for 20 minutes or so," said Grigson. "I bumped into him later on, maybe a couple of days later or something, and it's been amicable. It's been a normal thing where we talk like regular guys, I felt. It was an open conversation, and I told him whatever I knew. To me, it was a straightforward man-to-man conversation."

New Colts OC Bruce Arians essentially confirmed that a new quarterback will be on the roster in 2012 yesterday.

"Hopefully Peytoncan come back and get ready to go," said Arians. "But, there will be a new quarterback and a new beginning. It's exciting."

Ironically, Luck was in Indianapolis on Thursday to do an event with Gatorade.

"You never really replace someone like that," Luck said of Manning. "He is such an iconic sports figure especially for this city, this area. From what I understand, he's done so many great things outside of football and in the community."

Could he fill such shoes?

"I haven't given it too much thought," Luck said. "I've got the combine, that's what's important to me right now. The combine, the draft, the pro day before that, that's what I'm focusing on."

This article was written by Nate Davis and appeared in USA Today.