Should the Colts trade the No. 1 pick?

There's no point in even asking this question unless there's an opposite side of the transaction to discuss. Otherwise, all that's left is a big "It depends." Which of the other horrible teams of 2011 most need a QB? What do they have to offer for one? I don't think any team would trade a number one without getting a high first back.
Elway was traded for like the fourth pick. I think the Pats traded the number one pick which became Russell Maryland for very little, but at the time they were too broke to sign a first overall pick.

 

That's probably what will happen.
It will be interesting to see what the new coach wants to do.

 

Polian(s) won't ask him. Luck 's contract will be cap friendly due to slotting so they can sign ton of free agents.

 

It depends who they hire. But there's no way a big name coach is going to take the job without having some level of say in what the Colts are going to do at QB.

 

As a Colts fanboi looser, I would advise the Polians (because given their draft record the last decade, they need advice) to pick Luck, and if Manning's neck turns out to be OK, let him go.

I can't believe I'm tying that, really. Manning has earned the right to stay as long as he wants, and it's not as if his play was diminishing. But the nature of Manning's injury -- and the presence of Luck at the top of the draft -- changes things severely. He doesn't have the sort of injury that just heals, and that's that. There's no way to predict. Maybe Manning is OK and tears it up for the Jets for a few years, but at best, you have a quarterback hurtling into his late 30s.

As far as stockpiling picks, the Colts are going to have the first pick in every round, and probably at worst mid-level picks in each round the following year. So they're going to get some good players.

The decision the Colts have to make that, believe it or not, could be more difficult is whether to hold onto Freeney and Mathis next season. Both have actually played fairly well, but if a new coach comes in, and the defensive philosophy changes to not have undersized speedy players at every position, or at least the decision is that the Colts aren't going to have the offensive firepower to let Freeney and Mathis run wild late in games, then the team starts thinking about whether it's worth the money to keep them around.

 

I would love to hear someone explain how the Colts can trade a guy with neck problems so severe one hit could end his career and expect a team to pay him a $28 million bonus.

 

Manning is a class act and I'm guessing he cares more about his legacy in Indianapolis than, say Brett Favre did in Green Bay, so I think Manning is going to handle this as well as anybody could realistically expect him to.

Does that involve restructuring his deal so the Colts can trade him rather than just release him? I would doubt it.

 

I'm dying to see how this all shakes out.

It's a worst case scenario for Luck and Manning.

I still think it is a very real possibility that Luck will pull an Eli and refuse to go to Indy.

 

No, they shouldn't trade it, and they should draft Luck. Because I'm getting the feeling Manning has already played his last down of football.

And the Colts were a 10-6 team last year. The cupboard is hardly bare, and they aren't truly this bad. More a case of mailing it in for this year than an accurate measure of their talent level.

 

Any guesses on who the new coach will be?

 

The qb situation in the league is so bad, at least 10, maybe as many as 12 or 13 teams have qb issues.
It's a weird deal though - I can't really think of a team that is "close" but lacking a qb, where a trade for Manning would be possible or wise - you would think Nashville or New Orleans would be natural places for him to play out his days, but neither needs a QB.
I'm guessing we'll see a number of qbs that have whiffed in recent years go elsewhere. I can't remember a time when so many "QBs of the future" became QBs of the past so quickly. And yes, Gabbert, I'm looking in your direction.
Hell, if I'm the Raiders, I'd go back to Campbell and try and get one of the draft picks back for Palmer.

 

Not exactly sure here, which is why I'm asking, but didn't the "experts" say the same thing about Aaron Rodgers when he got drafted?