King: Wayne/Garçon/Manning package deal?
Peter King suggests something a step further than most. He says that the obvious situation is for a team to sign both Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne. Of course, now that Pierre Garçon has turned down a five-year deal with the Colts King throws him in for good measure:
And one more note from potential free agency, according to a source close to another free-agent receiver: Pierre Garcon, another Colt soon to be free, turned down a five-year contract offer from Indianapolis last week. More than one general manager at the combine said that's a sign Garcon doesn't want to do anything until he knows what Manning is going to do. What if, say, Washington GM Bruce Allen, with $49 million in cap room before adding the earned-incentives from the 2011 salary-cap year, says to Manning: "We'll recreate your 2010 receiving corps, and you'll have a defense already strong enough to play at a Super Bowl level.'' Could be very tempting.
I think Peter is quite right here. If a team could find a way to get all three it becomes an incredibly attractive offer.
I wonder-- if we really lose Garcon and Wayne, what do we do at receiver? Do we look at a guy like Meachem who doesn't have consistant stats but might cost a bit less, or do we go all in with someone like Mike Wallace and add another WR in the Draft?
In five years, Irsay may turn out to be a genuis. But right now, this organization has turned into a train wreck. Are any offensive free agents going to want to come here for a while, unless the Colts significantly outbid other teams? If Manning is gone, is any receiver going to want to work with a rookie QB and have no opportunity to win or get stats?
As opposed to playing with Manning, who may or may not ever recover his ability to throw a deep ball? Or Wayne, who has very obviously lost a step since his last SB appearance?
Somehow I think we'll find receivers who want to catch for Saint Andrew Felicitas.
