Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has not yet firmly committed one way or the other regarding his NFL future. However, after one Super Bowl victory, three appearances and five MVP awards, he's earned the extra time to make the decision. It's doubtful that anyone rushed Van Gogh after he dropped Starry Night.
One possible roadblock in Manning's return, though, could be his contract. The Broncos have some concerns and it's unclear at this point what Manning thinks of them.
"In talking to multiple sources within the Broncos organization, there is a sense of anxiety here about what decision Peyton Manning is going to finally make," Jason Cole of Bleacher Report said. "He's been asked to take a pay cut and it's a rather severe one. He's supposed to make $19 million this year and the Broncos want him to go down as far say, $12, maybe $11 or even $10 million in base salary. He can make up that money if he has another terrific season, perhaps if he leads the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory. However, in the background of this, if Peyton is not willing to take that pay cut, the Broncos have at least gone through the exercise of thinking about what they are going to do if they have to make the decision to part ways. This is not something they want to do, but they are ready to move on if they have to from Peyton Manning and go a different direction, including perhaps going with Brock Osweiler as their starting quarterback. I don't think that's something they want to at this time but that's something they may be prepared to do."
Osweiler has thrown a total of 30 passes in his three year NFL career. Handing the reigns over to him when this team still has Super Bowl aspirations may not be the best course of action. With some slim pickings on the free agent market and a draft pick too high to select one of the marquee QB prospects, the Broncos don't have many viable avenues to take if they want to replace Manning. The team may be best suited by taking Manning's financial hit on the chin this year while working on finding his heir apparent if Denver isn't sold on Osweiler's long-term prospects.
