Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne expounded Thursday on his critical comments about the Colts' preseason signing of veteran quarterback Kerry Collins to replace Peyton Manning, according to ProFootballTalk.com.
"It took me two years to learn this offense," Wayne said Thursday on Michael Irvin’s radio show on WQAM in Miami. "Now, you mean to tell me you're gonna bring in somebody and he's gonna learn it in 18 days? That just didn't sit right. That just didn't sit right with me. And I know we had Curtis Painter who'd been here for three years. You just gotta give him a shot. We gotta give him a chance.
"I may get a lot of flak about this, but that's all the way different from what our whole motto is. Our whole motto's always been 'the next man up.' And then we went and got somebody else. I'm like, 'Well, that's not how we roll, really.'"
Wayne was critical when the Colts signed Collins out of retirement on Aug. 24, challenging the presumption that the veteran would automatically win the starting job over Painter.
It looks like Wayne will get his wish when the Colts play the Buccaneers in Tampa on Monday night. Collins is suffering concussion symptoms from last Sunday's loss to the Steelers, and Painter is expected to get the start.
