The Cardinals again were connected to Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. This time, it was ESPN's Adam Schefter, who reported the Cardinals are among the teams expected to show interest if the Colts release Manning.

Charlie Casserly of CBS said the same thing a few weeks ago.

I have no doubt the Cardinals would be interested in Manning, as would numerous other teams. But former Cardinals guard Alan Faneca said it best this morning via twitter:

"Alert to all reporters: the entire NFL, minus the obvious few, will go after Peyton if the Colts dump him."

Many things have to happen before Manning could wind up in a Cardinals uniform. Here are a few:

No. 1 — Manning has to be healthy enough to play after missing 2011 with a neck problem. That's no small hurdle.

No. 2 — The Colts must decide to release Manning. As Darren Urban of azcardinals.com wrote, Manning is due a roster bonus of $28 million on March 8. Kevin Kolb is due a $7 million roster bonus on March 17. For obvious reasons, releasing Manning would not be an easy decision for Colts owner Jim Irsay.

No. 3 — If Manning is released, numerous teams will express interest. But how many of those places will be attractive to Manning. This is, I think, where the Cardinals could have an advantage. Throwing to Larry Fitzgerald has to be an attractive prospect. With Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams, the Cardinals have two talented young running backs. There are questions on the offensive line, however. The Cardinals' defense was stout over the last half of the season. Under Whisenhunt, the Cardinals have proven they are willing to throw the ball and to mold their offense around the strengths of an older quarterback.

The Manning situation isn't going to be decided any time soon but that won't stop rampant speculation, obviously.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 11:48 am and is filed under Arizona Republic Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.