There had been some fear in late January that Manning’s recovery had stalled. While that appears to be a subject of interpretation at this point, the progress over the past month has been sufficient enough that any team seeing the information would likely be willing to continue its pursuit of Manning, who was released Wednesday by the Indianapolis Colts.
Information was gathered from both Manning’s personal physicians and the Colts, who have sent all relevant information to teams that are interested in Manning.
“Some of this stuff is in the eye of the beholder,” another source said. All three sources said the concern at this point is all about the nerve and strength regeneration in Manning’s right throwing arm. The cervical fusion in his neck is solid enough to continue playing football.
The question for all teams will be whether Manning throws for them (at least one team appears ready to sign him without having him throw) and how effectively he throws. The video clip of Manning throwing at Duke University last week is hardly considered adequate evidence.
“He threw one 40-yard pass,” the first source said. “How would he do if he threw two more? How does he throw when he’s backpedaling and it’s all arm strength? There are a lot of questions left to be answered.”
