Report: Peyton Manning may celebrate retirement with Colts in some fashion

Many Colts fans - along with owner Jim Irsay - have wanted Peyton Manning to retire as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, returning to the place he called home for the first 14 seasons of his career and to the franchise which boasts him as their greatest player.  With Manning announcing his retirement on Monday during a press conference with the Denver Broncos, however, it appears that he won't be signing a one-day deal to retire as a member of the Colts.

That doesn't, though, rule out the possibility of him doing something with the franchise to celebrate his retirement and his career.  According to WTHR's Bob Kravitz, there are "rumblings" that Manning will head to Indy at some point soon and do something with the Colts to commemorate his incredible career.

I'm hearing some rumblings that Peyton Manning will come to Indy soon and will do something with the Colts. Maybe a presser? Don't know.

— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) March 7, 2016

CBS4's Mike Chappell confirmed that Manning may do something with the Colts.

This might be out there, but Colts and Manning might arrange some type of get-together in Indy in the next few weeks. Completes the circle

— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) March 7, 2016

WTHR's Dave Calabro also confirmed that the Colts are making plans to honor Manning:

I can confirm the #colts are making arrangements to honor #PeytonManning sometime soon in Indy! #WTHR

— dave calabro (@calabro13sports) March 7, 2016

It makes sense, too, as the Broncos were encouraging members of the Indianapolis media to stay home instead of come to the press conference on Monday.  Their reasoning was that there's no room (which is believable, since this is a big deal), but it would make much more sense if they knew that Manning would head to Indy to do something there as well later on.

It would be a nice gesture, as a lot of Colts fans would love to see Manning back in association with the franchise as he's leaving the game.  Retiring with a certain team on a one-day contract can be a strange gesture in the first place, so it's not a big deal if Manning doesn't do so with the Colts.  He said goodbye to the franchise four years ago today, and that was a very fitting departure.

He could choose to still celebrate with the Colts, and the team could choose to honor him by retiring his jersey (officially), by announcing a statue, or something like that while holding a press conference, which would give them the opportunity to honor Manning for his career and still allow Manning to simply retire with the Broncos.  It's unclear if anything will happen and, if so, what it would be, but it sounds like there's still a chance that Manning will reunite with the Colts soon to celebrate his career.

UPDATE: According to Bob Kravitz,the Colts will honor Manning at the team's complex in Indianapolis next Friday, March 18 at noon.