Bob Sanders

Michael Lombardi of NFL.com revealed today that the Colts All-Pro safety, Bob Sanders, may never play football again due to shoulder and bicep problems. Lombardi also mentions that Sanders reduced his contract (from the $37.5 million deal he signed in 2007), but his rehab is taking a longer time than anticipated.

Sanders ruptured his biceps last season and was placed on injured reserve in November. He only started two games for Indy last season, recording six tackles and one interception.

This is a pretty weird development; not only because Lombardi put this tidbit as the last point of his wordy article but Pro Football Weekly just yesterday reported literally the exact opposite:

• Colts SS Bob Sanders is coming off his best spring ever after participating fully in OTAs for the first time in his career. Sanders looked like a “fresh colt,” appearing very excited and energetic. A healthy Sanders bodes very well for the Colts, of course, and particularly for a secondary that has battled injuries of late.

We might have to wait until training camp commences to find out the real status of the oft-injured Sanders. All we have for now is hearsay.

UPDATE: Sanders’ agent, Tom Condon, and the Colts have refuted Lombardi’s report.

“Nothing has changed since June,” a team spokesman said.

Peyton Manning

Back in May, it was reported that Colts management was looking to get a contract extension done for their future Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning; one that would hover in the $20 million per year range.

Fast forward a few months and not only has nothing been completed, the two sides haven’t even started negotiating.

Per Jason La Canfora, the Colts and Manning haven’t begun talking about a new contract. While “this might happen soon”, according to La Canfora, general manager Bill Polian has had no dialogue with Manning or, presumably, his agent to this point.

If talks break down severely, one possible scenario would be to let Manning play out the final year of his current deal and re-open talks after it runs out. Polian could be hesitant to dole out a new $100 million contract with the uncertainty surrounding the Collective Bargaining Agreement, one of the recurring themes this offseason involving players and new contracts.

Either way, there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that Manning will ultimately retire and go into Canton as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

Antoine Bethea

If you didn’t think the Colts would get a deal done with any other player before taking care of their All-World quarterback, Peyton Manning, think again.

Per Adam Schefter, Indianapolis and free safety Antoine Bethea have agreed to a four-year contract worth $27 million. The team will pay him almost $18 million over the following two years.

Bethea, previously a restricted free-agent, was a sixth-round pick of Indy’s in 2006. Since then, he’s made the Pro Bowl twice (2007 & 2009) while accumulating 351 tackles and has picked off 11 passes.

At only 25-years old, Bethea hasn’t even entered his prime yet and the team should reap the benefits now that he’s got the long-term deal he’s been seeking.

Now the focus will turn to the Colts other superstars who want extensions, such as the aforementioned Manning, defensive end Robert Mathis and wide receiver Reggie Wayne. With no current salary cap in place, now’s the time to get these deals done.

Robert Mathis

File this one under: players who are currently signed but want a new deal.

According to Indystar.com, Colts defensive end Robert Mathis is staying away from the team’s voluntary organized team activities because he wants a new contract.

Because these workouts are voluntary, he can’t be fined or reprimanded in any way.

Mathis, who signed a five-year, $30 million extension in 2006, has two years left on his current deal. Scheduled to make $2.31 million this season, Mathis thinks he’s earned a pay bump. In comparison, Dwight Freeney, who’s a better player (when healthy), is currently making $72 million over six years.

Not ignoring the gaudy stats he’s achieved since being drafted by the Colts in 2003 (two Pro Bowls, 63 sacks), Indy has other fish to fry first this year, like signing Peyton Manning to his proposed mega-deal, possibly as soon as this summer.

Peyton Manning

It’s only fitting that arguably the greatest quarterback in the history of the game should be paid historically.

The Indianapolis Star mentions that Colts owner, Jim Irsay, within the next few months will hand his All-World QB an extension. One that will ensure he retires a Colt. One that will set his grandchildren’s grandchildren for life. We’re talking “in the five-year, $100 million neighborhood.”

That would mean $20 million per year, something no other player has achieved, obviously making him the highest paid player in the NFL’s history.

Manning, who is set to become a free-agent after the 2010 season, has earned every dollar that will be coming to him. Indy has no problem paying him that kind of money, even though they’ll have 18 other free-agents (including Joseph Addai, Antoine Bethea, Clint Session) to deal with.

They were never going to let Peyton even sniff the free-agent market. As well they shouldn’t.

And the Colts keep attacking holes in their defense by selecting LB Pat Angerer out of Iowa.

At 6′0″, 235, he’s not as big as you would want, but he plays big. His competitive nature carries him further than his size should allow. To be successful with the Colts they are going to have to use him well.

Jerry Hughes OLB out of TCU

He made Mel Kiper’s All Defense Team. That’s saying something.  Great vision and anticipation. Quick to respond. Strong moves. Just what this Colts Defense needs. And they sure needed a pass rushing end.

Hughes won the Ted Hendricks award in 2009, an award named after former NFL great Ted Hendricks, most notably with the Raiders, to acknowledge college football’s top defensive end.

And with that… one pick left in Day One.

More catch-up…

The Colts, doing what GM Bill Polian said they’d do, have come to terms on a new five-year, $33 million contract including a $12 million signing bonus with veteran MLB Gary Brackett.

Brackett has been the key cog in the Colts linebacking corps for the last five years, averaging over 110 tackles a season during that span.

The Colts are usually never big players in free-agency but they almost always lock-up their own; Brackett deserved this pay-day.

The Superbowl is next Sunday and the Colts could be without their best pass-rusher.

According to Adam Schefter, Indy’s All-Pro defensive end has a torn ligament in his right ankle that puts his status in serious doubt for Superbowl 44. Schefter points out this makes it difficult for him to play, if he plays at all.

This obviously would affect Indianapolis’ chances because getting pressure on Saints QB Drew Brees will be one of the biggest keys to victory if Peyton and Co. want to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. This is a situation to watch in the next week’s lead-up to the big game.

After reports surfaced that Colts QB Peyton Manning would be undergoing surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his knee, many speculated that he would miss all of training camp, preseason, and possibly even the season opener. Well, those thoughts can be put to rest now as Colts coach Tony Dungy is “certain” that Manning would be ready for opening day and could even sneak some preseason reps in.

When Manning first had the procedure done, the doctors said the recovery time is 4-6 weeks, with 4 being optimistic. Dungy says he don’t think he’ll need the full 6 week period, and could return as soon as 4, but defers to the doctor’s opinion and is taking it slowly with Manning. In Peyton’s 10 year, and future Canton-bound, career, he has never missed a game due to injury, clocking in 160 consecutive regular season starts. In fact, he’s only missed one play due to injury. One. While the All-Pro QB will still miss most of camp, this is good news for Colts fans everywhere as they’re assured he won’t miss time when it counts for real.