The Colts' coaching staff has let Anthony Gonzalez know that he will have an opportunity to compete against Pierre Garcon for the second wide receiver spot. Gonzalez will most likely be their slot receiver, ahead of Austin Collie.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning won the Youthlinks Indiana's National Pathfinder Award. Manning's mother and father won the award back in 2006. The award is given to individuals who show a commitment to improving the lives of America's children.

Peyton Manning will become an unrestricted free agent after the season, but the Colts still fully expect to sign him to an extension beforehand. Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay has said that he's ready to make Manning the highest-paid player in NFL history, but president Bill Polian says that the team has no timetable to reach an agreement. Manning's current deal -- seven years, $98 million -- was finalized after the 2004 season.

Colts safety Antoine Bethea will sign a four-year, $27 million deal that will pay about $18 million over first two years.

Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis are unlikely to receive new contracts from the Colts because of the uncertainty of the NFL's labor situation. Colts general manager Bill Polian said Tuesday on Sirius NFL Radio that he told the agents for both players, each of whom has skipped the team's voluntary offseason workouts, not to expect new deals any time soon. "What I told both representatives was that given the current status of both our budget and the labor negotiations, it is not possible to do anything at this point," Polian said on The Sirius Blitz. "I recognize that they are both very good players, that they are great guys, that we respect them highly, that we value their contributions, and when it's time to do that, when it's propitious to do that, when it is possible to do it, we will." Wayne, who tied Dallas Clark for the team lead in receptions (100) and touchdown catches (10) and led the Colts with 1,264 receiving yards, traditionally doesn't show up for voluntary offseason workouts. "I don't think (Wayne) will stay away from training camp because there is a rule this year in the uncapped year that if you do not come in by Aug. 10, you get an extra year tacked onto your contract," Polian said. "So, that is the last thing he wants. He's got two years to run on his contract. So, I presume he will be in."

The Colts have added quarterback Tom Brandstater, increasing the competition to backup Peyton Manning this season. Brandstater had been waived by the Broncos. He was a sixth-round pick of Denver in 2009.

Colts president Bill Polian is confident that the team will re-sign franchise quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning's contract expires after the 2010 season and Polian expects to give the quarterback a new deal before then. "There's probably some likelihood that that will happen," Polian said Monday. "But there's a lot of work that we can do between then and now to lay groundwork and cover areas that we need to cover and talk about various different structures, and we'll do that."

Colts safety Bob Sanders is optimistic about his health as the 2010 season approaches. He has been making appearances on the practice field over the past several weeks. Sanders played in just eight games the past two seasons due to various injuries. "It's fun to get out there and compete and enjoy the weather," Sanders said. "This is the first time I've been able to do OTAs in years. I've always been rehabbing a lot and spending a lot of time in the training room. It feels great to not to go into the training room and going into the weight room."

Colts president Bill Polian says that the lack of a long-term Collective Bargaining Agreement complicates things for holdouts like wide receiver Reggie Wayne. "We're not in a regular environment, that's the problem," Polian said. "I've spoken to both their agents, and I certainly respect both men and they make a good case. But the problem is we don't have a system, and without a system you don't know where contracts might or might not fit." Polian said all he can do is ask for patience while Wayne and defensive end Robert Mathis play out the two years remaining on their current contracts. "It's a jigsaw puzzle, and as one piece fits in then another falls in place and another falls in place," he said. "So the question is, what are the basic concepts and then where you go from there? What does one piece do to all the other pieces? That's the difficulty. You can't predict that, no one knows what it will be. No one knows until the parties sit down and hammer it out what it will be. And a small, little piece over here could change the whole complexion of things. "So it's futile to plan beyond just baseline kind of planning because you don't know what the final product is going to look like."

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning says that neck surgery he had in March has alleviated symptoms that prompted him to endure up to three treatment sessions a day. "I feel good out there throwing, I feel good in my lifting, I feel like everything went according to plan," Manning said. "I'm very relieved of that and I no longer have to get the treatment that I was having to get for the past four years. "Treatment was time as much as anything, manual traction trying to relieve some things. Three times a day about 25 minutes apiece just got to be tough, very time consuming." Manning had surgery in Chicago to alleviate the problems a pinched nerve had caused for about four years.