INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning said Friday that he fully expects to be in the starting lineup Sept. 7 when the Indianapolis Colts open the 2008 season with a home game at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Chicago Bears.
Manning, who returned to practice on Tuesday and went through a pregame workout with the team Thursday prior to the Colts’ final preseason game, and the rest of the Indianapolis squad went through a short afternoon practice before head coach Tony Dungy sent them home for a weekend break.
The Colts’ quarterback, however, won’t be taking much time off. He intends to continue the same rehab routine that he began after undergoing a surgical procedure to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee.
“I don’t really want to get into daily progress reports of how [his pregame work] went. But it was something that we decided to do last week,” Manning said. “We’re going to just keep progressing this weekend and going through next week. And hopefully we can just keep feeling better.”
He said that he felt good after going through his normal pregame routine before the Cincinnati game.
“It was good to get back there, doing the same things the rest of the guys were doing. Having to do rehab, having to miss practice, it’s not really the situation that you want to be in. It’s something that you have to do though,” Manning said.
“So it was good to get back out there, get in uniform, be around the guys. And hopefully that can be the sort of the norm from here on out. At least that’s the way I prefer it. But I’m still going to have to do some things to keep getting better.”
Now, he has little more than a week to get himself back on the same page, both physically and mentally, as everybody else. That won’t be easy.
“This is what we have to do in order to get ready. I can’t really predict [how he’ll do leading up to the Chicago game]. Like I said, this is kind of uncharted territory, uncharted waters for me [after] missing just about the entire training camp,” Manning said.
“But we’ll have to go with the time we have left. And certainly I’ve been preparing for the season opener for some time from a film standpoint. It’s good to get back out there on the field and do more physical activity. I was glad I was able to get in some work this week because next week won’t be the first time. I feel I got in some good practices this week. I thought that was important.”
In addition to getting himself ready from a medical standpoint, he must also prepare for the strong possibility that veteran center Jeff Saturday may not be around to snap him the ball. A week ago, in a preseason game with the Buffalo Bills, Saturday suffered what has been reported to be a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Team officials, however, have yet to confirm that diagnosis.
A pair of rookies, Steve Justice and Jamey Richard, appear to be the early front-runners to be Saturday’s replacement for the short term. Justice has been working with the first team offense during the preseason, but Richard has also gotten in some time with Manning during practice.
Offensive guard Ryan Lilja would be another option, but he is currently on the team’s physically unable to perform list as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.
“Yeah, I don’t know that Steve is going to be the guy. I have been doing some a center, Jamey Richard is the guy, that I’ve doing some work with. Certainly there are a lot of reports on Jeff and I’m not going to get into predicting other people’s injuries. But we certainly hope it’s not that long with Jeff,” the Colts quarterback said.
“Jeff is truly one of the old-school warrior kind of guys. I know he has not ruled anything out in his mind. But I visited with [offensive line coach] Howard [Mudd]. It could be a couple guys. Obviously with [offensive guard Ryan] Lilja’s [injury] situation still sort of uncertain, so Justice and Jamey Richard have been getting a lot of the work. But I think Jamey is going to be the guy. So yeah, I have been spending time, as soon as Jeff’s injury [occurred], Monday morning at 8 o’clock, Jamey Richard and I were taking snaps.”
Colts coach Tony Dungy, though, is not quite ready to name a starter at center if Saturday is unable to play against the Bears.
“We haven’t decided yet. Jamey has done a lot and did a good job. Steve Justice actually very, very well [against the Bengals]. He was one of the bright spots on offense with the way he handled things and snapped the ball well. So we still have a lot of possibilities,” Dungy said.
“I don’t want to say that I don’t worry about it or discount what Jeff has done. But we’ve got a number of guys that can play that position. And they’ll do fine whoever it ends up being. [Offensive guard] Charlie [Johnson] is a possibility. You know, Ryan Lilja when he’s ready to go. All those guys that have played some center for us. And the three young guys [Justice, Richard and Mike Pollak] all played center in college. Someone will emerge. Howard will figure out what it’s going to be the best. Again, it may be who’s the best center but what’s best for the whole group and how the guys have to learn it and everything. We’ll make a good choice and I’m sure we’ll do fine.”
The Colts’ coach said that Saturday is still weighing his options on whether to undergo surgery on his injured knee.
“I just spoke to him briefly in the training room and he was feeling good. I think he’s leaning against having the surgery. But we’re still evaluating that. We’ll probably make a decision in the next couple of days,” Dungy said, adding that he doesn’t think the team will place him on the injured reserve list.
“I don’t think, from talking to Jeff, I don’t think that will be a possibility right now.”
• • •
• Cuts coming today -- The Colts will announce the list of 22 players who have been trimmed from the team’s preseason roster sometime this afternoon.
All NFL teams must be down to the regular-season limit of 53 total players on the active roster by 4 p.m. today.
Colts
Manning’s workouts going well; QB wants to start Sept. 7 vs. Bears
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Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
While the Indianapolis Colts put their rookies and a handful of second-year players through workouts this weekend at the team’s Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, a pair of first-year coordinators are getting a chance to do some valuable on-field work as well.
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Werner, 36 others open Colts’ mini camp
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A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts received high marks for the impact players the team added through the NFL draft.
Of the 10 players selected, five ended up either starting or seeing extensive playing time (quarterback Andrew Luck, tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and running back Vick Ballard) during the Colts’ 11-5 season.
While this year’s class may not rival that group in terms of name recognition and flash, it may produce just as many major contributors once the 2013 season gets underway. -
Werner at top of game
Bjoern Werner was a late comer to football. But after being selected in the first round of the 2013 National Football League draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Werner realizes that he has reached the pinnacle of the sport in a relatively short amount of time.
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Colts select pass rusher Werner in first round
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The draft begins at 8 p.m. — televised by the NFL Network and ESPN — with the Kansas City Chiefs making the night’s first selection. Teams will have 10 minutes to make their decisions during the first round. Indianapolis will have the 24th overall pick in the first round.
There will be only one round tonight. The second and third rounds are scheduled for Friday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with seven minutes allotted per pick in the second round and five minutes allowed in the third. The final four rounds are slated to begin at noon Saturday with four minutes between selections.
As it stands now, Indianapolis does not have a second-round pick. It was traded to Miami last fall in exchange for veteran cornerback Vontae Davis. But second-year general manager Ryan Grigson has nut ruled out the possibility of trading down from the first round if the Colts aren’t satisfied with the players available. -
Direction clear for Colts in 2013 draft
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Heyward-Bey feeling fortunate to hook up with Luck
Add one more player to the list of veteran free agents signed by the Indianapolis Colts this offseason.
Former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey agreed to a a deal with the Colts late Monday evening. Bey, who played collegiately at Maryland, was the seventh player selected in the first round of the 2009 National Football League draft. -
Colts sign nose tackle
Another day, more player signings for the Indianapolis Colts.
Nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin agreed to terms with the Colts on Tuesday evening and officially signed with the team Wednesday. Franklin (6-1, 315) is a 10-year NFL veteran with stops in Baltimore (2003-06), San Francisco (2007-10), New Orleans (2011) and San Diego (2012). -
Colts sign Matt Hasselbeck to back up Luck
The Indianapolis Colts’ roster moves just keep coming.
While the Colts haven’t yet added that big-name wide receiver that team owner Jim Irsay hinted at in tweets over the weekend, Indianapolis has addressed one area on offense.
Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had agreed Monday night to be the Colts’ primary back-up to second-year starter Andrew Luck. He officially signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the team Tuesday morning.
“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Matt Hasselbeck,” general manager Ryan Grigson said in a prepared statement. “His body of work, intangibles, and extensive league experience speak for themselves. Those factors, plus his familiarity with our offensive scheme, will make him a great asset to our team and its vision as we move forward.” -
Colts likely done signing free agents, for now
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Landry, Jean Francois join Colts defensive unit
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New York Jets safety LaRon Landry and San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois both signed contracts with the Colts. Landry, a strong safety who appears to be a bigger version of former Indianapolis Pro Bowler Bob Sanders, and the versatile Jean-Francois are expected to make immediate impacts on the Colts’ defensive unit. -
Colts introduce free-agent signees
What the Indianapolis Colts accomplished last season — posting an 11-5 record and earning an AFC wild-card berth with a young team plus having that kind of success without its head coach on the sidelines for 12 games — didn’t go unnoticed by players around the NFL.
That was especially true for the five veteran free agents who were added to the Colts’ roster Tuesday. Offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus (Detroit), cornerback Greg Toler (Arizona), outside linebacker Erik Walden (Green Bay), offensive guard Donald Thomas (New England) and linebacker Lawrence Sidbury (Atlanta) admitted as much Wednesday.
“I felt like this would be the best fit for me at this point in my career. I really liked what I saw was happening with the program here and the way things have taken shape. I feel like we have a really great team here and it’s on the rise. I really wanted to be a part of that,” Thomas said during a teleconference interview with the Colts’ media. -
Colts sign five free agents, filling needs at offensive line, cornerback
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Jeff Saturday retires as a Colt
An Indianapolis Colt for life. Pencil in Jeff Saturday for that honor.
The 14-year veteran center in the NFL put an official stamp on a career Thursday that began in Baltimore in 1998 and ended in Green Bay in 2012. But it was those 13 seasons in between — from 1999 to 2011 in which he played for Indianapolis — when Saturday earned his greatest rewards. -
Saturday thrilled to retire as a Colt
The 14-year veteran center in the National Football League put an official stamp on a career Thursday that began in Baltimore in 1998 and ended in Green Bay in 2012. But it was those 13 seasons in-between — from 1999 to 2011 in which he played for Indianapolis — that Saturday earned his greatest rewards.
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Saturday to retire as Colt on Thursday
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Indianapolis franchises punter McAfee
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McAfee, an unrestricted free agent who’s contract is due to expire March 12, was designated as the Colts’ franchise player Friday. The move allows Indianapolis extra time to work out a long-term deal for the team’s special-teams ace.
“He’s huge. He’s a major priority in free agency. Obviously, we’ve reached out and are working to get Pat re-signed,” Pagano said during the National Football Scouting Combine. “We saw what he did for us last year. He’s a great weapon, not only kickoffs and touchbacks. -
Colts GM enjoying time at combine
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Colts keeping eye on large crop of talented linemen in NFL Draft
According to most National Football League draft observers, this year’s crop of prospects is deep with quality offensive and defensive linemen.
Among the offensive line candidates who have been showcasing their talents at the National Football Scouting Combine, which began in earnest Thursday and wraps up on Tuesday, the spotlight has been on the offensive tackles. Offensive left tackles in particular. -
Colts' Pagano back to full work schedule at combine
Back and ready to go.
That’s the attitude Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano is taking during the National Football Scouting Combine, which completed its second day of operations Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium. During a wide-ranging press conference at the combine, Pagano confirmed that he is back to a full work regimen after missing 12 games last fall as he battled a rare form of leukemia.
After undergoing cancer treatments that featured heavy doses of chemotherapy, the second-year head coach was able to return to the sidelines for Indianapolis’ final regular-season home game against Houston and for the team’s AFC wild-card matchup with eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore. -
Colts looking forward to different approach to draft in 2013
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts had the first overall pick in the 2012 National Football League draft.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Colts would select former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the selection. While Indianapolis front office and player personnel officials certainly had to do their due diligence in preparing for the draft, the Colts find themselves this year in a bit different situation.
The team will have the 24th overall pick in the first round, which is a double-edged sword. Indianapolis picks lower in the round due to a successful season. But the pool of available can’t-miss talent isn’t quite as plentiful as drafting earlier in the round. -
Former Pro Bowl selection Freeney won't return to Colts
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Colts moving on to the off season
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Baltimore ends Indy’s playoff run early
The Baltimore Ravens want one long final ride for Ray Lewis. Having disposed of Andrew Luck and the Colts, they now face a more imposing challenge.
Next up, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. -
Switching sides: Colts-Ravens matchup includes old friends on new teams
Just as Baltimore Ravens players and coaches will be seeing some old friends returning to M&T Bank Stadium today, several Indianapolis Colts veterans will also have an opportunity to renew acquaintances with a familiar face.
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Pagano prepares Colts for tough crowd in Baltimore
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Pagano marvels at Colt’s progress
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