With Peyton Manning riding off into the sunset after winning his second Super Bowl and Brock Osweiler agreeing to a big contract with the Texans, the Broncos are left searching for who will be their quarterback in the upcoming season.
Osweiler was drafted by the Broncos in the second round of the 2012 draft. That, of course, was the same year Manning arrived in town. Not surprisingly, Osweiler received limited opportunities until this past season, when he started seven games. Denver won five of those games. However, Osweiler was benched in the final regular season game against the Chargers with the Broncos trailing 13-7 in the third quarter in favor of Manning.
The decision obviously didn’t sit well with Osweiler, who displayed poor body language afterward. The benching ended up leaving a sour taste in Osweiler’s mouth and played a part in him not wanting to return to the franchise.
Now, John Elway and the organization must move forward and fill the void that’s been left. According to Elway, they will do so with players who want to be in Denver.
We’ve stayed true to our philosophy of building a team with players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here. That’s been a successful approach for us,” Elway said, via the team’s official site.
“While we did offer a very competitive and fair long-term contract to Brock, we ultimately had to remain disciplined while continuing to assemble a roster that can compete for championships.”
Could the part about players wanting to be there be seen as a parting shot in the direction of Osweiler? You could certainly make the inference. So, who will be under center for Denver next season? You can bet it will someone who actually wants to be there.
