As we heard on Tuesday, Peyton Manning is expected to be sidelined for at least the next two weeks as he continues his recovery from a plantar fascia tear, and if Brock Osweiler plays well in Manning’s absence, it seems likely that the future Hall-of-Famer will get even more time to recover. As Osweiler gets set for a Week 12 showdown with the Patriots, let’s check out the latest out of Denver….
- A source close to Manning told Mike Klis of 9NEWS this week that the Broncos quarterback was “incensed” by a report claiming that he is making plans for 2016, with the Broncos or otherwise (all Twitter links). Klis notes that the 39-year-old did give some thought to retirement after last year, so historically he doesn’t consider his future plans during the season. Head coach Gary Kubiak was also dismissive of reports that Manning plans on playing in 2016, calling them “totally false.” Presumably that means the veteran quarterback simply hasn’t made a decision yet, and Kubiak’s not suggesting Manning has decided not to play in ’16.
- Before making arrangements to work out Christian Ponder, the Broncos put a waiver claim in on Jimmy Clausen, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS. However, the former Bears backup was instead awarded to the Ravens. Baltimore, of course, also had a need at quarterback after Joe Flacco went down with a season-ending ACL injury.
- With a game in Denver coming up this Sunday night, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels reflected back on his time as the Broncos’ head coach, indicating that he’s thankful to the club for giving him that opportunity, as Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com details. “[I] wish we’d have done better,” McDaniels said. “But again I’ve learned a lot of different things after that experience, looking back on it, and hopefully it’s made me a better person and a better coach at the same time.”
Luke Adams contributed to this post.