AP

On Thursday afternoon, Chris Russell of ESPN 980 in Washington (a radio station owned by Redskins owner Daniel Snyder) reported that quarterback Peyton Manning has informed the Redskins that Peyton isn’t interested in joining the team.

A source with knowledge of the situation disputes that account, telling PFT that Manning has not told the Redskins to take his name off their wish list.

Yet.

So Manning hasn’t told the Redskins he’s out, but that doesn’t mean he’ll eventually pick the Redskins. It also doesn’t mean he’s genuinely interested.

I continue to believe he isn’t, and that he won’t be. Though it seems a little silly to avoid the entire conference out of deference to Eli, it’s hard to imagine Peyton joining the NFC East. And it’s hard to imagine Peyton coexisting with Kyle Shanahan, since each guy will want to run the offense. And it’s hard to imagine Peyton not having a case of bitter beer face at that thought of playing at FedEx Field the day after the turf gets torn up by a pair of college teams.

Still, for now, he hasn’t said no. In time, he likely will.

And while we don’t doubt that someone within the organization told Russell that Manning has told the team “thanks” and “no thanks,” it’s hard not to wonder whether the Redskins are trying to slide off the radar screen, in the hopes of swooping in and snatching Manning.