(AP) - Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay says his team must be prepared to start the season without injured quarterback Peyton Manning, and the club might need to find a veteran backup.
Irsay posted his comments Saturday morning on his Twitter account, less than 12 hours after the Colts lost their eighth straight preseason game.
"We r evaluating the QB sitch,(hash)18 healing but we must 2 b prepared 4 early season possibility without him,defense has 2 pick it up,big time!," Irsay wrote.
During a conference call with reporters, coach Jim Caldwell was asked again when he expected Manning to be back.
Caldwell still hasn't provided a timeline for Manning's return and says Manning still hasn't been cleared to practice.
Curtis Painter, Manning's backup, has started both preseason games.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKTVO