Peyton Manning is rehabbing from a nagging foot injury with one goal and one goal only in mind — to reclaim his starting quarterback job. Are the Denver Broncos anxious to get him back in that role?
Jason La Canfora reports that the Broncos are in “no rush” to get Manning back on the field and that Manning’s demotion has already resulted in “some friction” between him and the team. If Manning ends up losing his job to Brock Osweiler, he will not go quietly.
From the report:
Manning, an uber-competitor, is fixated on his recovery and getting back on the field. He wants to reclaim his starting spot, and will push to do so, according to sources with knowledge of the situation…
The situation could well come to a head in the next two weeks, with Manning undoubtedly reaching a point where he will let it be known he is healthy enough to reclaim his starting job, while, unless Osweiler fails in the meantime, that opportunity simply may not exist.
La Canfora adds that everyone in the Broncos organization is committed to giving the offense a chance to succeed under Osweiler. A team source said the Broncos will not be “bullied” into starting Manning again simply because of his veteran status. The situation is already drawing comparisons to the one with Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre several years back.
“We know this much — (Manning is) not going to go quietly,” a source told La Canfora. “He’s going to have to be dealt with.”
If Manning doesn’t suffer a setback, the Broncos will eventually have a decision to make. It doesn’t sound like they can simply pretend Manning is more hurt than he is, because Manning could publicly declare himself healthy to put pressure on the team.
Reports have indicated that Manning wants to play in 2016, even if it isn’t for the Broncos. It also sounds like Peyton hasn’t been all that involved in helping his potential replacement, and you can read more about that here.
If Osweiler leads the Broncos to a win over the unbeaten New England Patriots and Manning feels he is healthy enough to play next week, things could get ugly in a hurry.
