Where's Peyton?

It is all but decided that the Indianapolis Colts will be releasing Peyton Manning rather than paying his roster bonus of $28 millon. With Peyton off the team, the Colts are expected to select Andrew Luck with the #1 pick in the NFL draft. This leads to possibly one of the biggest free agents in NFL history. Very rarely is an elite QB allowed to test the FA waters unless they are at the end of their career, ala Brett Favre. With that said, Peyton is in a very similar situation to Favre in that he holds the power and will look to join a winning team. My apologies to Dolphins, Browns or Redskins fans who had pipe dreams of #18 wearing their colors. He won't be looking to join a rebuilding team as he only has a few years left and just surgically repaired his neck so he might want a decent offensive line to protect him. I also highly doubt that the Raiders or Seahawks will be on his radar either as they don't seem to be sure which direction they are headed. Here are my front runners and a dark horse for Peyton's right arm:

New York Jets- ESPN keeps floating this idea and I'm sure they would love for nothing more than a little drama in the Big Apple. Jets players have already questioned Mark Sanchez and his work ethic so he doesn't look like a long term solution. What better place for a big time QB like Peyton who loves doing commercials and endorsements than the marketing capital of the US? He would be able to handle the pressure without batting an eye. His Tom Brady rivalry would only increase as they'd be battling twice a year and for the division crown. The Jets are a very solid team already with plenty of weapons and a player's coach (Rex Ryan) at the helm. It seems like a very good fit and one in which Peyton would be able to lay out his list of "demands".

Denver Broncos- Yes, I know Tim Tebow plays in Denver, but I can't see John Elway not at least testing the waters to see if Manning would want to come to the Mile High City. As much as I enjoy Tebow Time, he is not the type of QB that will see prolonged success in the NFL. Elway really wants to find a pro-style QB to lead the Broncos, but can't cause a mutiny in Denver by replacing Tebow. With that said, I do believe that bringing in Peyton Manning would pacify the fans as they would be getting a top 5 QB and a future Hall of Famer who could be sold as a "mentor" to Tebow while making the offense a legitimate threat. Only a Peyton Manning type player would not cause a mass riot in the streets of Denver. Peyton would have plenty of talent around him on offense and would love throwing to a receiver like Demaryius Thomas. The Broncos were basically carried by their defense with Tebow at the helm and Manning would help them evolve into a more complete team.

San Francisco 49ers- Here is the dark horse. Alex Smith has led the resurgence of the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh and being a former #1 pick, he obviously has some talent. He has taken them to the NFC Conference Championship and possibly the Super Bowl depending on this weekend. With that said, would Harbaugh be able to pass up coaching a QB of Manning's caliber? He came to the 49ers from Stanford where he helped to develop Andrew Luck into the best QB prospect since some guy named... Peyton Manning. Harbaugh is a former NFL QB himself and would love to run a top flight passing attack, especially against the weak defenses of the NFC West. The 49ers are a team with a great QB legacy with the likes of Joe Montana and Steve Young. Alex Smith's contract is up after this year so they wouldn't have to deal with releasing or trading him. Peyton would help to get the most out of highly talented, but low output players such as Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis. If the 49ers had a high powered offense to go along with their stifling defense, it would be hard to believe that they wouldn't be a front runner for the Lombardi Trophy for the next couple of years.