Has Peyton Manning Played His Last Game In The NFL? [Video]

Yahoo! Sports reported Monday that the status of Peyton Manning’s rehab is not going as planned. The implication is that if the rehab doesn’t pick up he may not regain the arm strength in order to play at a professional level.

Manning was forced out of the entire 2001 campaign recovering from spinal fusion surgery. In December he resumed throwing and trying to get back on the field. Sources close to Manning have told Yahoo that his rehab is not progressing and the nerves in his arm do not look like they are healing properly.

In addition to the bad news about his throwing velocity, there have been more than one doctor affiliated with the NFL that are extremely familiar with the type of surgery that Manning had and said that he is at a very heightened possibility of injury if he takes the wrong type of hit. While this is true of most players, Manning could wind up paralyzed.

One of the NFL affiliated doctors told Yahoo,

“Right now, Peyton is at about six months. He should have a much better idea by July or August just how far he’s going to get … even then, that’s only a part of it. You can tell about 80 percent of how the nerves and the muscles are healing by rehab. What you really have to see is how his arm holds up when he starts to throw. Does he have the same velocity on the 15-yard out? Can he throw the 60-yard pass? Can he throw for 30 minutes before his arm gets tired? Can he throw for an hour? It’s a very complicated process.”

Colts owner Jim Irsay declined to discuss Manning’s condition prior to a press conference he had scheduled for Monday but he did say, “there are no cases of quarterbacks going through this.”

Irsay is trying to decide what the best play is with Manning. If he keeps the quarterback and Manning returns to form he may have another Super Bowl ring but it is a huge gamble to take because Manning is owed a $28 million roster bonus in March. Confounding the problem is that Indianapolis has the first pick in the NFL draft which they are most likely going to use to draft Andrew Luck, Manning’s successor.

Both Isray and Manning have had a rocky relationship as of late but both are not going to comment on their situation during the week of the Super Bowl which is being held in Indianapolis.

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