INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts are bringing one veteran quarterback out of retirement.
No, not Brett Favre.
The team agreed to terms Wednesday with Kerry Collins, making him the likely starter in case Peyton Manning hasn't completely recovered from offseason neck surgery when the season opens Sept. 11.
Collins said he has been given no indication that Manning won't play at Houston.
Wyche: Collins more than insurance
By signing Kerry Collins,
the Colts just sent a clear message that the franchise is uncertain about Peyton Manning being ready for Week 1, Steve Wyche writes. **More ...**
"Hopefully, Peyton will be back, but if he's not, maybe I can be one of the guys that can help this ballclub," Collins said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday night. "The biggest draw for me coming here was just being with a team that I have a lot of respect for and a lot of history with, and really to be with a great team and play with one of greatest quarterbacks of all time."
Collins agreed to a one-year contract and acknowledged he could be talked into staying longer than 2011.
But not everyone in the Colts' locker room was enamored with the move.
"We don't even know him, we ain't vanilla, man, we ain't no simple offense," wide receiver Reggie Wayne said. "So for him to come in here and be the starter, I don't see it. I think that's a step back."
Collins acknowledged that learning the Colts' offense in such a short time is his biggest challenge in joining the team.
"It's going to be like a foreign language," Collins said. "The concepts may be the same, but they call it something completely different. So that's going to be a challenge, and that's why I need bust my tail, get in the classroom and hopefully I can get to the point where I can get out there and operate the offense efficiently."
Colts coach Jim Caldwell wasn't available to talk with reporters about Collins, but he struck a calm tone in a statement released by the team.
"He is a veteran quarterback who has started many games and he brings dimension and depth to the quarterback position, which will be helpful," Caldwell said. "He is familiar with our division and will make a great addition to our roster."
Yet the move is another indication that Manning's streak of 227 consecutive starts, including playoff games, is in serious jeopardy.
Manning had surgery May 23 to repair a nerve in his neck, and the recovery has gone slower than expected partially, Manning said, because he couldn't work out with team trainers during the 4½-month lockout.
Colts owner Jim Irsay wrote Saturday morning on Twitter that the Colts had to be prepared to play without Manning in the opener against the AFC South rival Texans. Later that day, Manning acknowledged he didn't expect to play in the final two preseason games and that he would need the next two weeks just to get healthy.
Caldwell hasn't said when he expects Manning to return to the field after the quarterback signed a five-year, $90 million contract to stay in Indianapolis last month.
"I think he laid out pretty well where he is, and that he is working extremely hard to try and get back as quickly as he possibly can," Caldwell said Monday. "He's going to work hard at trying to get back and get ready, and he's doing everything he can to do so."
And if he's not ready? Well, there's Collins, who has played in 195 career games with the Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers before retiring in July.
Collins has a career 55.8 completion percentage and has thrown for 40,441 yards, 206 touchdowns and 195 interceptions. As the starter, Collins has led his team to the playoffs four times, including a Super Bowl appearance with the Giants in the 2000 season.
Wayne, a five-time Pro Bowl pick and one of Manning's favorite targets, has supported backup Curtis Painter. And while he called Collins "a great guy," he said he was worried about the Colts improving.
"Who says Kerry's going to be the starter?" Wayne said. "Just because we bring him in doesn't mean he's the starter. He's got to learn too, right? Unless they gave him a playbook months ago, he's got to learn, too.
"I don't care who you are, I mean I'm not going to let anyone just come in here and just push someone (like Painter) aside like you're that dog now, you know what I mean?" Wayne added.
Painter has started both preseason games this year, completing 8 of 16 passes for 95 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. In Friday night's 16-3 loss to the Washington Redskins, Painter managed only one first down and couldn't get the offense past its 29-yard line despite playing the entire first half.
Painter hasn't played in a regular-season game since 2009. Another backup, Dan Orlovsky, has played in 13 games in six NFL seasons, and the other quarterback on the roster is undrafted rookie Mike Hartline.
For his part, Painter doesn't expect it to take Collins long to get up to speed.
"He's a veteran guy, been around a while. I'm sure the terminology across the league isn't too different," Painter said. "I expect he'll come in and pick it up quite well."
The good news is that Collins already has some familiarity with the Colts' brain trust.
Still, two huge questions remain.
How quickly can the 16-year veteran get up to speed in the offense, which has traditionally relied on calls at the line of scrimmage? And did Collins rediscover his passion for the game in the past seven weeks?
"I have decided that while my desire to compete on Sundays is still and always will be there, my willingness to commit to the preparation necessary to play another season has waned to a level that I feel is no longer adequate to meet the demands of the position," Collins said in announcing his retirement July 7.
Two weeks later, Collins said he had even considered retiring at the end of last season.
Irsay had tweeted to ask for suggestions about signing a veteran free agent and on Sunday said he was in Hattiesburg, Miss., stirring speculation that he might be trying to lure Favre out of retirement (again). Instead, it was Collins.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
