Manning
The two-time league MVP missed his second straight day of Colts practice Saturday as he continues to recover from knee surgery at his Indianapolis-area home. He had an infected bursa sac removed from his left knee July 14 and doctors have instructed him to stay home to avoid risking another infection.
Neither Colts coach Tony Dungy nor Manning, who addressed the injury during a conference call with reporters Thursday, have said when he is expected to arrive at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where the Colts practice through Aug. 15.
It's an unusual situation for the Colts. Since signing his rookie contract in 1998, after a five-day holdout, Manning has rarely missed a practice or team meeting. One of the most durable quarterbacks in league history, Manning has started all 160 regular-season games during his 10 seasons, the second-longest streak in league history behind Brett Favre's record 253 consecutive starts.
Jim Sorgi, who has backed up Manning the last four seasons, has replaced Manning at practice. Indy also signed two veteran quarterbacks, Quinn Gray and Jared Lorenzen, on Thursday. AFC South blog
ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky writes about all things AFC South in his division blog.
• Blog network: NFL Nation
Receiver Marvin Harrison, who returned to practice Friday, was not on the field Saturday morning but took to the field in the afternoon. Dungy said Harrison was scheduled to practice only once a day.
Two other veterans were missing from practice Saturday -- linebacker Clint Session and defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock. Dungy said both were excused for personal reasons.
Both are in their second season with the Colts, and Session could play a critical role in replacing the injured Tyjuan Hagler (torn pectoral muscle). Hagler has been placed on the physically unable to perform list and Dungy does not expect to him back until at least October. When practice opened Friday, Session was practicing with the starters.
Dungy said that the team may have an announcement Monday about Pitcock.
Two players left practice early with injuries.
Rookie linebacker Philip Wheeler, a third-round pick out of Georgia Tech, hurt his knee. Second-year defensive back Melvin Bullitt injured his knee.
Dungy said Bullitt will probably miss a few days, and he wasn't sure how long Wheeler would be out.
Indy has six players -- Manning, Hagler, 2007 NFL defensive player of the year Bob Sanders, former league sacks champion Dwight Freeney, starting guard Ryan Lilja and rookie tight end Tom Santi -- on the PUP list, meaning they're not yet eligible to practice.
Big Papi sits out again because of knee bruise
Peyton withholds reaction to Harrison’s legal limbo
Borowski misses first training session
Dungy says Manning might play during preseason
