The Denver Broncos are planning to start Peyton Manning once the quarterback is ready to return from a foot injury despite the strong play from backup Brock Osweiler over the past two games. Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said the team wants Manning to get healthy and once he is ready to play, he likely will start again for the Broncos.
Manning has been dealing with a foot injury and Osweiler has started the past two games for Denver against the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots. Osweiler has played well in those two games and combined with the inconsistent play of Manning this season, some in the media have suggested that the Broncos could keep starting Osweiler even when Manning is ready to return. Kubiak put some water on those reports this week, as Pro Football Talk writes that Kubiak said that the team is "totally committed to getting our quarterback - getting Peyton healthy and getting him back. Nothing has changed."
Manning is working his way back from a partially torn plantar fascia in his foot and so far there is no set return date for Manning to play. According to Adam Schefter at ESPN, Manning has been able to get rid of the walking cast on his foot and while he still needs a boot for the injury, he can start doing rehab work. The Broncos said last week that it would be "at least" two more weeks before Manning could return and that could change depending on how the rehab goes for the injury.
Osweiler has performed well stepping in for Manning, leading the Broncos to two wins and throwing for three touchdowns and one interception over the last two games. Manning is expected to miss at least two more games and last week a report from Chris Mortensen at ESPN had Manning not coming back "anytime soon." The Broncos offense has been more productive in the running game with Osweiler starting, but Kubiak remains committed to bringing Manning back once he is healthy enough to play.
The Broncos finally saw CJ Anderson break out this week after an inconsistent season in 2015 and he now could be a better fantasy start option for team owners over Ronnie Hillman. Hillman had emerged as the lead back over the middle stretch of the season when Anderson was struggling, but Anderson has played much better since the Broncos had a bye week and since Osweiler has stepped in to start.
Anderson has rushed for over 160 yards combined with two touchdowns in the past two games and after putting up a paltry 2.7 yards per carry before the bye week, Anderson is averaging over six yards per carry since that time. Hillman should still see touches, but if Anderson continues to show a burst at running back, he should be the lead runner for Week 13 and for the back stretch of the season.
