Harrison asks for and gets release from Colts

Harrison asks for and gets release from Colts
February 25
Indianapolis Star

"Peyton Manning's vacation in Florida was interrupted Tuesday by news he had anticipated, but dreaded nonetheless. Marvin Harrison, his longtime teammate, was no longer an Indianapolis Colt.

"I'm indebted to him," Manning said in a telephone interview with The Star. "I'm sad he won't be here. There's no way I would be at the place I am right now if I hadn't played with Marvin for 11 years.

"In my opinion, he's always going to be a Colt."

Unable to reach a deal to retain a 36-year-old receiver who carried a cumbersome $13.4 million salary cap figure in 2009 -- and with Harrison unwilling to take a pay cut -- the Colts terminated his contract. Team president Bill Polian sent the paperwork to the NFL office Tuesday. The transaction becomes official today.

Irsay met with Harrison on Tuesday afternoon, making certain the owner and player -- "partners'' Irsay called his relationship with Harrison -- had completely thought through the process and were comfortable with the outcome.

"He was the way Marvin is: very matter of fact. 'I think I can still play. I want to still play. And so I'm going to go out and do that,' '' Irsay said.

Polian described Tuesday as "a sad day for the Colts . . . he's a Hall of Famer, no question. He takes his place with Raymond Berry as the two greatest receivers in this club's history."

Harrison, who was not present at the late afternoon news conference, ranks second in NFL history with 1,102 receptions, fourth with 14,580 receiving yards and fifth with 128 touchdowns.

The vast majority of his body of work was compiled with Manning delivering the football. The two hold league records by a quarterback-receiver duo for touchdowns (112), completions (953) and yards (12,766).

"I'm more proud that the time he and I were setting those tandem records, he and I were winning a lot of ballgames," Manning said. "That always was the objective."

During their 11-year association, Manning and Harrison contributed to the Colts winning 117 regular-season games. They made the playoffs nine times, including a Super Bowl XLI win."
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