By PFW staff
July 15, 2008

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning’s streak of starting 160 straight games — every game in his NFL career — could be in jeopardy. After going under the knife Monday to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee, Manning's status for the start of the season depends on how well his rehabilitation progresses.

Colts president Bill Polian described the procedure as routine, adding that team doctors expect the 32-year-old Manning to be fully healthy in 4-6 weeks. However, given that timetable, he’d miss the bulk of training camp, which opens July 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.

If that timetable is accurate, it's important to note that the Colts’ season opener against the Bears on Sept. 7 — in the grand opening of Lucas Oil Stadium on "Sunday Night Football" — falls just outside of that window.

The eight-time Pro Bowler reportedly has been receiving treatment for an inflamed bursa in the knee since February, but he recently had been experiencing an increase in pain, which signaled an infection.

The PFW spin

The news that Manning should be out through training camp and possibly into the regular season is just the latest piece of bad news for an organization that already is dealing with issues surrounding three of its other star players. DE Dwight Freeney and SS Bob Sanders are recuperating from foot and shoulder injuries, respectively, that will keep them sidelined for camp. Plus, aging WR Marvin Harrison, who missed much of last season with a knee injury, had his name connected to a shooting incident in Philadelphia this spring, although he has yet to be named as a suspect.

The good news for the Colts is that Manning is so well-versed in the offense that missing camp shouldn’t set him back in terms of preparation. Furthermore, he already has established a strong rapport with top targets like WR Reggie Wayne, TE Dallas Clark and Harrison. However, second-year WR Anthony Gonzalez and rookie TEs Jacob Tamme and Tom Santi are expected to play significant roles in the passing game, and Manning’s absence could delay their development.

In Manning’s place, career backup Jim Sorgi will assume No. 1 duties, and this is a scary proposition. The league consensus is that Sorgi doesn’t have the goods to be an effective starting quarterback, that he’s merely a stopgap player. However, he does have a firm grasp of the offense after playing his entire four-year career in Indianapolis.

Behind Sorgi are a pair of passers who went undrafted out of college, Josh Betts and rookie Adam Tafralis. Betts has a better arm than Sorgi, but is considered very raw.

Although the team is maintaining that this injury isn’t a big deal in terms of long-term consequences (i.e., it won’t impact the regular season), it’s important to keep in mind that the Colts were overly optimistic in regard to the medical information they distributed last season regarding Harrison, who, coincidently, also was hobbled with a bursa sac injury. Harrison was listed on the team’s injury report as “questionable” throughout most of the second half of the season but didn’t appear in a game after Week Seven until the playoffs.

If Manning’s injury turns out to be more serious than anticipated, look for the Colts to add a veteran signalcaller to the roster. Daunte Culpepper and Byron Leftwich are among the available quarterbacks who could merit strong consideration from the club in the event of prolonged absence from Manning.

Our fantasy take

Unless new information comes out that Manning could be out a considerable amount of time, he probably should remain the No. 2 fantasy quarterback, although it wouldn't be a stretch to drop him to No. 3 behind Tony Romo. However, this should erase all thoughts of taking Manning ahead of No. 1 QB Tom Brady.