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Mark Sanchez (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez has a private workout with the Indianapolis Colts before his Pro Day workout march 1.
That was the report from the Los Angeles Daily News late Friday night/early Sunday, and as might be expected, there has been something of a buzz beginning about the story today.
Why would the Colts work out Sanchez with three-time Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning still on the roster, and still very much in his prime?
The reason is this may not be as big a story as it may begin appearing over the weekend. I hesitated to mention it on Examiner or on Indyfootballreport.com for just that reason -- that it's the sort of one-line report in a newspaper guy's notebook, written without explanation, that often sets people to speculating without much perspective.
But then, maybe a bit of perspective is needed. A personal workout in no way means a team is necessarily going to draft the player. Yes, if Sanchez slips to the bottom of the first round, the Colts could believe him too high a value to pass at the No. 27 slot.
But it’s hard to imagine the Colts taking a quarterback in the first round, even if as a backup to develop behind Manning. First, the Colts like Jim Sorgi as the backup, and even if you envision an Aaron Rogers/Brett Favre scenario with Sanchez backing up Manning for three years, that puts Manning in his 15th season when Sanchez is in his fourth season and Manning wants to play past that.
But as I wrote on Indyfootballreport:
I also can’t see the Colts ever allowing Manning to play elsewhere. And yeah, no one imagined the Packers letting Brett Favre leave, but remember how much Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Irsay didn’t want to release wide receiver Marvin Harrison last month? Multiply that by 10, maybe more.
Historically — i.e., Tommy Maddox and Rodgers — drafting a developmental guy behind a legend causes a lot of drama, so it would be a surprise. And it’s a risky thing, bringing in a first-round quarterback, even one firmly entrenched. No one was more entrenched than John Elway in Denver when the Broncos drafted Maddox. And Favre was still in his prime when the Packers drafted Rodgers. And still, there were reports of issues.
The more logical reason for the workout is Colts President Bill Polian believes in doing his homework and there's a chance Sanchez could drop to the Cotls at No. 27. A diligent general manager is a good general manager no way does Polian want to be uneducated on a franchise-level quarterback should circumstances push one to the bottom of the first round. Maybe a team wants to trade into the spot. Or maybe Polian wants to take Sanchez to have as a tradeable commodity. Or maybe he just wants to know his options
As to what would happen should Sanchez be available, that's only speculation. But if I'm a Colts fan, I want my GM checking it out.
For more Colts news, please visit www.Indyfootballreport.com.
Or check out my 2009 NFL Draft/Colts coverage on examiner: Quarterbacks.
More Colts stories on Examiner include:
* Widow of Former Colts running back released from prison.
* Why Terrell Owens won't land in Indianapolis.
* Will Marvin Harrison land in Philadelphia?
*What kept Jeff Saturday in Indianapolis.
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