Peyton Manning has reportedly yet to decide if he will play football in 2015. And if the five-time NFL MVP does decide to come back, could it be a team other than the Denver Broncos?
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, some general managers around the NFL have wondered if John Elway has made moves this offseason that he knows could make Manning want to leave.
“Talking to other general managers around the league, they wonder if Elway is engineering it so Peyton Manning doesn’t come back,” Rapoport said Sunday. “He took away his head coach and offensive coordinator. He’s going to bring in a head coach whose system doesn’t really fit. It’s worth wondering.”
John Fox and the Broncos decided to mutually part ways immediately after Denver’s season ended, and it is starting to look like Elway will hire Gary Kubiak to be the team’s next head coach. Kubiak’s system is typically centered around the run, which might not be a fit with Manning.
“I am told that Manning is not surprised at the major changes that have happened after the Broncos season,” Rapoport added. “They knew that if they didn’t make the Super Bowl this was possible. After the Rams game, John Elway wondered if this team is tough enough or if this is actually as good as it gets.”
On the other hand, Mike Klis of the Denver Post believes Manning will stay with the Broncos and play two more seasons.
If Elway is looking to move on from Manning, that would seem to indicate that he does not think this had everything to do with Manning’s late-season struggles. Time will tell.
