The Denver Broncos have Peyton Manning dealing with a foot injury and in Week 11 Brock Osweiler will make the start at quarterback. Head coach Gary Kubiak announced the news Monday and now Osweiler will get the chance to start against the Chicago Bears and Manning will likely be inactive for the game.
Manning had one of the worst games of his career on Sunday against the Chiefs and now the Broncos will start Osweiler until Manning can get healthy enough to play again. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Manning is dealing with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot and that came after he was already diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Manning is also dealing with a rib injury and Pro Football Talk reports that Manning had an MRI on Monday to see how serious the injury is.
Kubiak announced that Manning will not dress for the game next Sunday and that puts Trevor Siemian in as the backup for Osweiler. Kubiak said to the media that the focus is on getting Manning healthy again and that the team will be looking to play Manning again once he is healed up. The game on Sunday will be the first time that Manning has missed a game since signing with the Broncos and while the team wants to get him back under center eventually, there is a chance that he may not start again for Denver this season depending on the severity of his injuries.
Manning had a very tough day against the Chiefs on Sunday, completing just five of his 20 passes for 35 yards and throwing four interceptions and zero touchdowns. Manning now has 17 interceptions and nine touchdowns this season and while Kubiak said Manning would start again once he is healthy, there is a chance that if Osweiler plays well that he keeps Manning on the bench for a bit longer.
The Denver Post reports that Manning has been dealing with his foot injury for a few weeks already and that it cropped up when the team played the Colts in Week 9. Osweiler came in against the Chiefs on Sunday and completed 14-of-24 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and an interception and now he will get the chance to start on Sunday. Osweiler has not played much over the past three seasons and in that time he has appeared in 13 games and has thrown two total touchdowns and one interception.
Ronnie Hillman has continued to be the lead running back for the Broncos and he is worth starting for fantasy owners over CJ Anderson. Anderson opened the season as the starter, but he has been inconsistent this year and that has given Hillman the chance to step up. Hillman had more yards and more touches than Anderson on Sunday and with Osweiler coming in, there is a good chance the running backs will be involved in the offense on Sunday. Hillman had 42 yards rushing and one touchdown and over the past three games he has scored three touchdowns for the Broncos.
