Collins ready to go if Manning is not

Posted: Thursday, August 25, 2011 9:13 pm

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts are bringing one veteran quarterback out of retirement. No, not Brett Favre. The Colts agreed to terms Wednesday with Kerry Collins, making him the likely starter in case Peyton Manning hasn’t completely recovered from offseason neck surgery when the season opens Sept. 11. Collins said he has been given no indication that Manning won’t play at Houston. “Hopefully, Peyton will be back, but if he’s not maybe I can be one of the guys that can help this ball club,” Collins said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday night. “The biggest draw for me coming here was just being with a team that I have a lot of respect for and a lot of history with, and really to be with a great team and play with one of greatest quarterbacks of all time.” Collins agreed to a one-year contract and acknowledged he could be talked into staying longer than 2011. Not everyone in the Colts locker room is enamored with the move. “We don’t even know him, we ain’t vanilla, man, we ain’t no simple offense,” receiver Reggie Wayne said. “So for him to come in here and be the starter, I don’t see it. I think that’s a step back.” Colts coach Jim Caldwell wasn’t available to talk with reporters about Collins, a player he coached at Penn State, because the official announcement didn’t come until after practice. Caldwell spoke with reporters before practice. But he struck a calm tone in a statement released by the team. “He is a veteran quarterback who has started many games and he brings dimension and depth to the quarterback position, which will be helpful,” Caldwell said. “He is familiar with our division and will make a great addition to our roster.” The move is another indication that Manning’s streak of 227 consecutive starts, including playoff games, is in serious jeopardy for the first time since 2008. Manning had surgery May 23 to repair a nerve in his neck, and the recovery has gone slower than expected partially, Manning said, because he couldn’t work out with team trainers during the 41/2-month lockout. On Saturday morning, Colts owner Jim Irsay wrote on Twitter that the Colts should be prepared to play without Manning in the opener against the division-rival Texans. Later that day, Manning acknowledged he did not expect to play in the final two preseason games and that he would need the next two weeks just to get healthy. Collins said the first call from Indy came Saturday, too. Caldwell hasn’t said when he expects Manning to return to the field after signing a five-year, $90 million contract to stay in Indy last month. “I think he laid out pretty well where he is, and that he is working extremely hard to try and get back as quickly as he possibly can,” Caldwell said Monday. “He’s going to work hard at trying to get back and get ready, and he’s doing everything he can to do so.” And if he’s not ready? Well, there’s Collins, who has played in 195 career games with Tennessee, New Orleans, the New York Giants, Oakland and Carolina before retiring in July. Collins has a career 55.8 completion percentage and has thrown for 40,441 yards, 206 touchdowns and 195 interceptions. Published in The Messenger 8.25.11