The Denver Broncos are on the hunt for a new starting quarterback. Peyton Manning's expected retirement was followed on the first day of the new NFL league year by the entirely unexpected departure of former heir apparent, Brock Osweiler. Osweiler, a former second-round pick by the Broncos and GM John Elway, took the reins of the Broncos offense for eight weeks of the 2015 regular season at a time when Manning was struggling with injuries and his overall performance.
And while Osweiler played well and provided a promising glimpse of what could be the future in Denver, he eventually ceded the starting spot again to Manning following a January game against the San Diego Chargers. Manning assumed control of the Broncos offense again and provided a safe, veteran presence opposite the fierce Denver defense as the team made their way up to and through Super Bowl 50.
But Denver and Elway seemed to have been thrown for a loop when it was announced that Osweiler would be signing a behemoth free agent contract with the Houston Texans. The Broncos had been negotiating with Osweiler, though timelines differed on how frequent or recent those talks had been prior to Osweiler signing on in Houston, and don't seem to have a ready replacement at quarterback.
It's not surprising that the situation would leave Elway and the rest of the Broncos brass a little perturbed. It is surprising that Elway would use the team website to throw shade at Osweiler on the day of his departure.
"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.
It's not exactly, "screw you, Brock, and the bronco you rode in on," but it does seem a not-so-thinly veiled shot at Osweiler for taking the money instead of sticking with the franchise that drafted and developed him.
But really, what else is Osweiler supposed to do? Sure, it's a petulant response by Osweiler to skip town because of the "bad taste" left in his mouth by being benched in favor of Manning, a future Hall of Famer likely in his final NFL season, late in 2015 after shepherding the Broncos through a tough stretch of the regular season. But football is a young man's game and the NFL is a young man's league. Elway drafted Osweiler and then promptly sat him on the bench for four seasons in favor of Manning.
And while Osweiler never gave any legitimate reason for Elway to go away from Manning, during 2015 or in the year's prior, there's no denying that if he'd landed with another franchise he'd likely have had a shot at starting before now.
Osweiler, like every NFL player, like every professional quarterback, wants to start. The Broncos weren't willing to give him that opportunity until Manning was done, and that's their prerogative. And if they set a value they were willing to go to for Osweiler this offseason, but not an inch beyond that, that's entirely understandable as well.
But it's also Osweiler's prerogative to take the money and the starting gig that comes from jumping ship in free agency. With the Texans, Osweiler is the unquestioned No. 1. That's something that was never offered him in Denver.
Would it have been had he re-signed at whatever figure Elway was offering? Probably. Is the deal that Osweiler signed - four-years, $72 million with $37 million guaranteed - with the Texans wildly out of line with his career performance to date? Absolutely.
But the Broncos and Elway can't be upset that a guy they drafted, then sat on the bench until they were absolutely forced to play him, chose not to stick around.
And really, looking at the silly guaranteed money Osweiler wound up landing, they may have been fortunate it turned out that way anyway.
