ANSWERING THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS SURROUNDING PEYTON MANNING

Is Peyton Manning going to retire? If he doesn't retire, will he continue to play for the Indianapolis Colts?

Those might be the two biggest questions on the minds of NFL fans this week in Indianapolis as the New England Patriots prepare to play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI.

Sure, there are "storylines" about the biggest game of the year.

How is Rob Gronkowski's ankle injury? Will Chad Ochocinco be active for the game? Child, please.

No Super Bowl news is quite as compelling as Peyton Manning's future. After all, he is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.

Will he or won't he? That is the question.

And as far as I can tell, nobody—including Peyton Manning—really knows the answer to that question at this time.

Actor Rob Lowe thought he had the answer and decided to tweet it a couple weeks ago.

More recently, Manning's father Archie and his brother Cooper weighed in by saying Peyton was working very hard and getting himself ready to play again. Whether it was for the Indianapolis Colts or not they weren't sure. They just knew he was doing everything in his power to return to the football field.

His little brother Eli—who is playing this week, of course—has, on a number of occasions, echoed those family sentiments.

Peyton Manning is still recovering from his third neck surgery in the past two years. The most recent procedure erased him from the 2011 season and the Colts finished as the worst team in football with a 2-14 record.

It prompted some to vote for Manning as the league's MVP without him having to take a single snap. It was an homage to just how valuable he was to his team. The Colts had gone from first to worst in the AFC South.

Regarding Peyton's future employment with the Colts, you can be sure a decision will be made prior to March 8, when he is set to receive a $28 million option bonus.

My gut feeling is the Colts are set to move forward without Manning. They will draft Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and begin rebuilding a team around a quarterback who has been hyped to be the best since—you guessed it, Peyton Manning.

I also believe that Manning will play football again, obviously for a team other than the Colts. But it will be the "right" situation for him. At 36-years-old, he doesn't have a lot of time left to win another Super Bowl, but he will have the luxury to choose from a long list of suitors, some of which are a veteran quarterback away from a championship run.

If Peyton Manning can regain his health, he'll play again. Somewhere.