Colts expected to release Peyton Manning

One of the greatest eras in NFL history is coming to a close.

Peyton Manning will be released Wednesday by the Indianapolis Colts, according to multiple reports, ending a months-long saga of what the franchise would do with the league’s only four-time most valuable player. The news was first reported on ESPN.com.

Manning, who sat out last season recovering from multiple neck surgeries, has said he intends to play this season, even if it’s with another franchise. Manning, who turns 36 this month, won a Super Bowl with the Colts in 2006.

In order to keep him, the Colts would have to pay him a $28-million roster bonus by Friday.

Instead, the Colts are moving forward without him and are in position to use the No. 1 overall pick to select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck in next month’s draft.

Manning will become a free agent – arguably the most-decorated free agent in history – and will be free to cut a deal with another team. Among those clubs that could compete for his services are Arizona, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, the New York Jets, and others.

“When you look at Peyton and the career that he’s had, I always look at it as the Joe Montanas, the Brett Favres, all those guys that you saw in different helmets,” Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway told The Times last month of the possibility of Manning playing elsewhere. “It’s always a little bit odd. But he’ll always be remembered as a Colt.”

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