McNulty: Peyton Manning's place is not in Miami

ShareThis

Peyton Manning is a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player, a Super Bowl champion who has twice taken his team to the title bout and, if he retired today, would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

But he'll be 36 in March.

He missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing career-threatening neck surgery.

He's still recovering.

And for those reasons -- his age, the seriousness of the injury and the fact that his recovery has taken longer than expected -- Manning isn't the right fit for the Miami Dolphins.

Even if he's medically cleared to play.

Even if the Indianapolis Colts decide to not pay him the $28 million bonus he's due in early March and he becomes a free agent.

Even if he proves he can still throw a football as well as anyone ever to play the game.

It's not worth the cost.

It's not worth the risk.

Manning, if he can play and leaves Indianapolis, won't come cheap.

Whatever team gets him will need to put a sizable dent in its salary cap. And he's going to want at least a three-year contract, probably more.

That's where the risk comes in.

Remember: We're talking about a 36-year-old quarterback with a neck injury. One wrong hit could end his season, maybe his career.

Then what?

Can the Dolphins, despite wasting most of the past decade trying to get by without a championship-caliber quarterback, gamble that Manning will stay healthy and productive enough to help them win?

Sure, it's tempting.

He's Peyton Manning.

And in today's NFL, where all the rule changes favor the passing game, it's all about the quarterback.

We can only imagine what Dan Marino might have done if quarterbacks were protected then, in the 1980s and '90s, as they are now -- and his receivers didn't need to concern themselves with getting hit too hard.

We can imagine, too, what a healthy Manning might do in Miami.

Certainly, it would be fun to watch, especially after enduring too many years in which the Dolphins offense produced too little excitement and not nearly enough wins. It would be a quick fix, too.

With Manning at quarterback, the Dolphins might be able to contend for a playoff berth next season. He's THAT good. Just ask the Colts, who won only two games this season without him.

But the Dolphins, starting over again with another new coach, need to think beyond next season and look at the bigger picture.

They need to look elsewhere for a quarterback to take the starter's job from Matt Moore.

Maybe they'll go hard at Matt Flynn, the Green Bay backup who, as a free agent, might jump at the chance to play for Joe Philbin, his offensive coordinator with the Packers.

Maybe they'll try to move up in the draft so they can get Baylor's Robert Griffin III, winner of this year's Manning Award, created to honor the accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning and presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to the college football's best quarterback, taking into consideration his regular-season and bowl-game performances.

Maybe they'll decide to go with Moore and find a suitable backup.

Whatever they do, Manning ought not be part of their plans -- unless, of course, he's willing to accept an incentive-laden, team-friendly contract. And, if he's healthy, he's unlikely to do so.

Other teams will call. Some of them will provide a better fit. One of them will decide it's worth the risk.

The Dolphins, though, can't ... or shouldn't.

The wiser move is to take a run at Flynn, who, playing in Philbin's system, produced a spectacular, record-setting performance in the Packers' regular-season finale. Or they can make whatever deal is necessary to put themselves in position to draft Griffin and let him learn from Moore.

Or they can hope Moore improves upon his surprising showing this past season and, in case he doesn't, bring in another veteran quarterback to compete for the job in camp.

But Manning in Miami?

It's very tempting.

It's also too risky.

He'll be 36 in March. He's still recovering from serious neck surgery. And the Dolphins can't afford to make another costly mistake at quarterback.

(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers. Contact him at ray.mcnulty(at)scripps.com. On the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)

Column