The Denver Broncos have denied a report that the team tried to trade Peyton Manning to the Houston Texans this offseason in the hopes of starting the Brock Osweiler era under Gary Kubiak and this comes as the team is also dealing with the Demaryius Thomas contract situation and he could hold out in training camp if he doesn't get a long term deal.
Earlier this offseason Manning's future was firmly in question, as many speculated that he could retire due to injuries or that he could consider leaving Denver with John Fox getting fired. After Gary Kubiak came in the team said that Manning would be fine with any new offensive system after a few years under Fox, but some wondered if the team would stick with Manning. Things popped up again this week after a report from Benjamin Allbright of 94.1 FM in Denver said that the Broncos tried to trade Manning to the Texans this offseason.
Manning was interested in the Texans when he originally was deciding to sign with a team following his release from the Colts, but a deal did not end up happening. The Broncos have denied the report, with Broncos spokesman Patrick Smyth writing on Twitter that the "speculation is false" about the potential trade. The vehement denial may be true, but it also could give a little life to the rumors, as Manning previously added a no-trade clause in his contract for 2015. The real story here may never come out, as the Broncos may not want to look like they were considering trading a legend. The original story says that the "certain elements" of the Broncos front office want the Brock Osweiler "era to start in 2015."
Manning has dealt with some injuries the past couple seasons, but he has been able to bring the Broncos to the playoffs and he has put up some great numbers in that time. Osweiler has not had the chance to play much in his career, throwing just 30 passes over three seasons. The QB played in four games last year and threw 10 passes, including one touchdown. Osweiler has great size and could end up as a strong QB in the future, but right now the plan is to keep Manning as the starter.
According to John McClain at the Houston Chronicle, three "trusted sources" said to him that the report was "not true" and the teams did not engage in talks. Either way, Manning likely has one or two years left in his body and the Broncos are hoping to win a Super Bowl in that time. Picking up on the rumors, SportsRadio 610 spoke to sources that said the Texans and Broncos had "very preliminary" talks about Manning coming to Houston.
The report says talks happened before Manning signed his new deal with the Broncos and before the Texans signed Brian Hoyer. Thomas is coming into training camp without a contract and right now it doesn't look like a deal will get done before camp starts. Manning wants Thomas to come into camp and the team is hoping to get things done before the July 15 deadline. Thomas has been one of the most productive players in football the past few years.
