Peyton Manning's Days with the Colts are Numbered, So Where Will He Head Next?

     The word on the street is that the Colts are ready to move on without Peyton Manning. This means that as one era ends, and it was a great last decade for Manning and the Colts though it was marred by playoff disappointment, another era begins with what is assumed to be Andrew Luck at quarterback, though there is an outside chance the Colts look at the success Cam Newton had this past year and think that Robert Griffin III will be the same type of player. I think Luck is a little bit of a safer bet though I think teams would be crazy to let Griffin slip past the first five picks, but that is another topic for another time. I want to examine where Peyton Manning's career goes from here. Any team that does not have a franchise quarterback should at least consider Manning. Let's use process of elimination and eliminate the teams that have no need for Manning whatsoever because they have definitive franchise and Super Bowl caliber quarterbacks.

New England, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Houston, San Diego, Dallas, New York Giants, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina

Thats 14 teams that are out of contention right off the bat. Here are some other teams that also would not be interested in Manning's services.

Baltimore- They're not going to give up on Flacco for a 36 year old with potential injury risk, they have other needs

St. Louis- If the Rams were going to go elsewhere with quarterback, which they're not, they would do it via the draft, not with Manning

Kansas City- With Matt Cassel coming back and other injured players coming back, the Chiefs will look to improve in other areas rather than go after Manning

San Francisco- After the year Alex Smith had, they won't give up on him, but it would be pretty interesting though if Manning was a 49er

Now it is narrowed down to 13 teams and here, in order, are the teams listed with the best chance to acquire Manning.

13 Jacksonville Jaguars - There is no way that Manning is a Jacksonville Jaguar, no way.

12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - With the minimal amount of talent in Tampa, Manning has no reason to head down south

11 Seattle Seahawks - Pete Carrol would like to have Manning instead of Tavaris Jackson, but again, no weapons, no chance

10 Buffalo Bills - The Bills have a pretty good quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick and there are other problems in Buffalo. Plus, it's Buffalo, Manning isn't going there!

9 Arizona Cardinals - The Cardinals don't and won't need to make a serious push

8 Tennessee Titans - Jake Locker is the future in Tennessee, they won't and can't make that strong of a push

7 Oakland Raiders - The Raiders have made big splashes before and with the new front office, you never know. But Carson Palmer and Jason Campbell are viable options for a team on the cusp of the playoffs

6 Minnesota Vikings - Christian Ponder is solid and could become a very good quarterback, but it would be interesting to see Peyton Manning handing off to Adrian Peterson

5 Denver Broncos - You know that John Elway is probably a big fan of Peyton Manning and although it would be heartbreaking for Denver fans to let Tim Tebow go, I'm sure they would welcome Manning with open arms

4 Cleveland Browns - The book is out on Colt McCoy and in an effort to potentially spark interest and jump start the franchise, Mike Holmgren might desperately want Peyton Manning in Cleveland

3 Washington Redskins - Mike Shanahan has a lot of the pieces in place but he is missing the quarterback. The fact that they aren't quite high enough to grab Robert Griffin along with Matt Barkley and Landry Jones remaining in college might push them to make a move to acquire Manning and create a great, two time a year rivalry between him and brother Eli on the Giants

2 Miami Dolphins - Peyton Manning might want some sunshine in Miami. Also, they have some of the pieces in place along with the innovative Joe Philbin who was one of the architects of the Packers successful offense, so it may be very enticing for Manning.

1 New York Jets - The Jets are a bold team, so it would be typical of them to make a bold move and acquire Manning and cut ties with Sanchez. With the Jets hopes of a Super Bowl fleeting with this group of guys, Rex Ryan might get desperate and get rid of Sanchez, bring Manning to Broadway and create the league's ultimate rivalry between Manning and the Jets and Brady and the Patriots

Prediction: Peyton Manning becomes a New York Jet