The Facts: Following up on an ongoing story. ... In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview, Manning addressed a number of pressing topics, including his health, his sadness over the firings of several coaches, his minimal relationship with new GM Ryan Grigson and the future. For the record, Manning and Grigson finally met, briefly, last week when the two ran across each other in the facility. "One thing he (Grigson) kind-of, sort-of told me, without really wanting to tell me, was that (owner Jim) Irsay will be the guy I'm going to sit down and talk with," Manning said. "That's going to happen at some point, but we haven't had that conversation yet because we really don't need to have that conversation yet."

Diehards Line:Manning also made it clear he's not retiring, at least not any time soon and he was as surprised as anybody when actor Rob Lowe tweeted that he was calling it a career last week. "I never thought 'Sodapop Curtis' would announce my retirement," Manning said, laughing, referring to Lowe’s character in the 1983 movie "The Outsiders." "I always thought I would be the one to announce it. ..." As for Manning’s health, he's not all the way back yet, but he's not going to put any kinds of percentages on his recovery, nor will he predict whether he'll be at full strength by early March, when the $28 million option bonus is due. At this point, he just doesn't know. ... And so we all continue to wait.