Peyton Manning

Broncos Notes: Manning, Clausen, McDaniels

November 25th, 2015 at 9:44am CST by Zachary Links

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.

Peyton Manning Out For At Least Two More Weeks

November 24th, 2015 at 7:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Peyton Manning is expected to miss at least the next two weeks as he continues his recovery from a plantar fascia tear, as Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com writes. Manning will spend at least the next week in a walking cast before beginning additional rehabilitation.

“Peyton and I had a good visit today, and we’ve got a plan in place for his recovery,” head coach Gary Kubiak said. “His foot will be in a cast for at least a week, but he’ll be able to be part of meetings and do some workouts with the rest of the team. We expect him to be unavailable for at least a couple of games. We’ll proceed from there and will continue to support him as he does everything he can to get healthy.”

Manning became the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage in his Week 10 start, but the milestone was the lone bright spot in a dreadful performance that included four interceptions and just five completions on 20 passing attempts. Frankly, Manning hasn’t looked right for most of the 2015 season, and he has also been dealing with a rib issue. With Manning ailing, the Broncos will continue to ride with backup Brock Osweiler.

Osweiler, 25, has an opportunity to boost his stock on the open market this winter, since the former second-round pick is in a contract year. More immediately, Osweiler will be tasked with keeping the Broncos atop the AFC West. If Manning’s injury keeps him out for an extended period, he could conceivably be Denver’s playoff starter.

The Broncos are also expected to expected to work out former Vikings starter Christian Ponder on Wednesday, per the report.

AFC Notes: Osweiler, Manning, Dennard, Hoyer

November 23rd, 2015 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

After picking up a victory in his first career start on Sunday, Brock Osweiler will face a tougher test in Week 12. As first reported by Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link) and since confirmed by head coach Gary Kubiak, Osweiler will make another start for the Broncos next Sunday against the undefeated Patriots.

While Osweiler prepares to start a second consecutive game, Peyton Manning is in Charlotte, getting a second opinion on his foot injury, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Multiple reports on Sunday suggested that the future Hall-of-Famer is considering playing one more season, assuming he can get healthy, but Kubiak denied those rumors, suggesting today that Manning is focused solely on his recovery, rather than on 2016 (Twitter link via Troy Renck of the Denver Post).

Let’s check in on some other items from across the AFC….

The Bengals‘ fears on cornerback Darqueze Dennard were confirmed by an MRI today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who tweets that Dennard requires shoulder surgery and will be out for the rest of the season. Cincinnati should be able to overcome losing the 2014 first-rounder, since he was only serving as the club’s No. 4 corner in recent weeks.
Schefter also passes along the latest on the Texans‘ quarterback situation, with head coach Bill O’Brien announcing on ESPN’s NFL Insiders that Brian Hoyer will return to action in Week 12 (Twitter link). That may spell the end of Brandon Weeden‘s time in Houston, unless the team moves forward with three quarterbacks on its roster.
In the wake of Quinton Coples‘ release, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets that it was “well known around the league” that the Jets had the linebacker on the trade block for most of 2015. Obviously, there were no takers prior to the deadline, which doesn’t bode particularly well for Coples’ odds of being claimed on waivers. Meanwhile, head coach Todd Bowles hinted today that he has a player – possibly a kick returner – in mind for Coples’ old roster spot (Twitter link via Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com).
It wasn’t that long ago that it seemed like Colts head coach Chuck Pagano could be fired any day. While he’s still no lock to keep his job beyond the 2015 season, Pagano has his team believing in him, as Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star details.

Extra Points: Manning, Goodell, Hardy, Flacco

November 22nd, 2015 at 10:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

As Week 11 winds down, here’s the latest news from around the league.

Peyton Manning‘s acceptance of a potential front office position could have to wait, with both Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Florio (on NBC’s telecast) hearing the 39-year-old quarterback may want to play one more season. It’s doubtful the Broncos keep Manning around at a figure close to the $21.5MM he’s set to earn in 2016 during the fifth year of his five-year contract, but Florio reported Manning would consider continuing his career on another team. Cabot reports Manning might be hesitant to join the Browns‘ front office since his wife Ashley, a part owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, would prefer to stay in the south.
An old topic appears to be regaining some steam, with Roger Goodell telling Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter) a move to expand the regular season is on the table. This would apparently involve reducing the preseason, per Tomasson, who didn’t specify whether this means the 18-game figure that caused so much contention between the NFL and NFLPA years ago. NFLPA president Eric Winston recently didn’t rule out an expansion to 18 games, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk views this subject’s resurfacing centering on the growing number of international games aligning schedules and some teams’ reluctance to give up home contests.
The Cowboys‘ patience with Greg Hardy is waning, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (as relayed by NFL.com’s Conor Orr). In addition to the on-field blowups and photos of Nicole Holder emerging recently, Hardy’s late nights are a concern to the team despite the defensive end being on a one-year deal. Hardy also showed up late for a meeting last Saturday night before the Cowboys’ game against the Buccaneers. This has induced dialogue between Hardy and Jason Garrett, Jerry Jones and various team veterans.
As he’s done throughout the season, though, Jones came to Hardy’s aid. “He is aware that everything he does — his personality, his style, his enthusiasm — it’s all going to be interpreted negatively,” Jones told ESPN.com’s Jean-Jacque Taylor. “If he’s not aware of that, then he’s hurting a lot of people. I think he really gets that. We certainly feel that way. He understands it, and he has agreed to really work on it.” This seems to contradict the above report, but it’s in line with Jones’ comments on the embattled defender throughout the season.
The Ravens will bring in another quarterback (Twitter link via Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun) after Joe Flacco‘s torn ACL injury, which Zreibec notes (on Twitter) the Ravens are confident is a torn ACL and MCL. Zreibec tweets Jason Campbell, Rex Grossman and Bengals practice squad member Keith Wenning are options. Wenning spent time on the Ravens’ roster last season.
Brian Hoyer will stay as the Texans‘ starter when he returns from a concussion, Bill O’Brien informed the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson. T.J. Yates has helped the Texans to back-to-back wins, while Hoyer sports a 13-to-4 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio.

Latest On Brock Osweiler, Peyton Manning

November 22nd, 2015 at 11:44am CST by Rory Parks

The Broncos are in no rush to get Peyton Manning back on the field, and they intend to give Brock Osweiler at least two games under center, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Manning, who is dealing with a partial tear in his foot along with the rib and shoulder issues that have been plaguing him for some time, is not expected to play until he is able to practice regularly in preparation for a game. And if Osweiler performs well, or even decently, there is a chance that the Broncos will not turn back to Manning at all. Indeed, after speaking to sources inside the organization, Mike Silver of the NFL Network has concluded that Osweiler is not merely keeping Manning’s seat warm until the future Hall-of-Famer returns. Instead, Silver says, Manning has simply been benched (Twitter link via NFL Media).

To say that Manning has performed poorly this season would be an understatement. He leads the NFL in interceptions (17) and ranks 31st in overall passer rating. If his name were not Peyton Manning, he may have been benched several weeks ago. And, since the Broncos will likely be in rebuilding mode next season, the switch to Osweiler represents something of a win-win scenario; Osweiler, who is considerably more mobile than Manning, will allow head coach Gary Kubiak to open up his playbook and therefore help the team in its current playoff push while also allowing Denver to determine if he can be the permanent answer under center.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com agrees with La Canfora’s report, although he adds that Broncos officials are split as to whether Osweiler is the team’s quarterback of the future. That is why the team has not yet discussed a possible contract extension with Osweiler, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. However, if Osweiler can effectively manage the next several games, the Broncos’ approach to their quarterback situation could begin to take shape.

The expectation is that Manning, after he retires, will ultimately pursue a front office position. Whether that happens immediately after he retires is another story, but La Canfora writes in a separate piece that if Manning is ready for such a role in 2016, there will be a number of teams willing to give him a shot. Per La Canfora, the Titans and Browns are two clubs that would love to bring Manning aboard, and there are a few factors to suggest that either team would be an attractive landing spot. For instance, Manning has strong ties to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, and he has long held that he would like to live in Tennessee when his playing days are over. Of course, someone with Manning’s reputation can afford to wait for the perfect opportunity, but as the end of his playing career may be accelerated this afternoon, it is natural for the rest of us to speculate as to what will come next for an all-time great.

Extra Points: Jaguars, Broncos, Jets

November 21st, 2015 at 12:34pm CST by Ben Levine

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com lays down a potential plan for a 17-game NFL season. Potential switches to the schedule could include:

17 regular season games
two preseason games (instead of four)
a second bye week, thus pushing the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day Weekend

There would be a possible 16 neutral-site games, allowing the NFL to expand anywhere. Florio suggest London, Mexico City, China, and Australia.

NFLPA president Eric Winston recently discussed the addition of an extra game with FOX Sports 910 Phoenix (via Florio).

“As far as expanding regular season games, I just don’t see what the use is at this point,” he said. “We’ve got a great game. 16 games is plenty. . . . I don’t think there’s a lot of guys around the league that are interested in playing more games. I don’t know how it makes sense.

“I never say never about anything. . . . To me if just doesn’t seem to make sense, but you never know what comes down in the future.”

Let’s check out some more assorted notes from around the league…

The Jaguars worked out a trio of defensive lineman this week (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter): Da’Quan Bowers, Tim Jamison, and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen.
If Brock Osweiler plays well this weekend, Troy Renck of the Denver Post opines that the Broncos quarterback should start the following week against the Patriots. This would give Peyton Manning extended time to recover from any lingering injuries.
Jets defensive back Calvin Pryor had a tumultuous rookie campaign last season, and the second-year player has missed three games recovering from an ankle sprain. Still, the 23-year-old has seen several changes in himself, making him confident that he can transition back to the lineup. “Maturity,” he told Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. “Not being late to meetings and not doing things the wrong way. I feel like that’s the biggest thing.”

Peyton Manning Has Torn Plantar Fascia

November 16th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

2:25pm: Osweiler will start against the Bears in Week 11, head coach Gary Kubiak confirmed today. Kubiak stressed that the focus will be on getting Manning healthy, so he won’t dress for Sunday’s game — Trevor Siemian will back up Osweiler (Twitter links via Troy Renck of the Denver Post).

10:56am: Schefter has updated his initial report, clarifying (via Twitter) that Manning’s torn plantar fascia is actually in his left foot, not his right foot. Nonethless, as Schefter adds, it’s hard to imagine that Osweiler won’t be starting in Manning’s place next week.

10:16am: The foot injury isn’t a new one for Manning, who had it get worse on the turf in Indianapolis in Week 9, according to various reports. Mike Klis of 9News tweets that Osweiler appears likely to get the Week 11 start vs. the Bears, though the team has yet to make that official.

8:43am: Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is coming off the worst game of his long NFL career, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), a foot injury may have played a significant role in the future Hall-of-Famer’s poor performance on Sunday. Schefter reports that Manning, who had been battling plantar fasciitis, had the injury worsen, suffering a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.

As Schefter explains (via Twitter), it’s possible to play through such an injury — Peyton’s brother, Eli Manning, was able to play through a fully torn plantar fascia during the 2009 season, for instance. However, according to Schefter, Peyton has a partial tear, which is even more painful to play through.

Manning became the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage on Sunday, but the milestone was the lone bright spot in a dreadful performance that included four interceptions and just five completions on 20 passing attempts. While it seems unlikely the 39-year-old will continue to play that poorly, he hasn’t looked right for most of the 2015 season, and he has also been dealing with a rib issue. Ultimately, given how Manning is struggling to push of his back foot, the Broncos may prefer to let him rest for a little while, giving Brock Osweiler a shot.

Osweiler, who turns 25 next Sunday, wasn’t great in relief of Manning in yesterday’s game against the Chiefs, but he at least injected a little life into the offense, throwing for 146 yards and a touchdown. If Osweiler gets some additional playing time this season, it could go a long way to determining his potential stock on the open market this winter, since the former second-round pick is in a contract year.

AFC Notes: Manning, Osweiler, Manziel

November 15th, 2015 at 7:33pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest on some AFC quarterbacks:

Peyton Manning‘s dreadful 2015 season reached a new low Sunday when he completed just 5 of 20 passes for 35 yards and four interceptions in the Broncos’ 29-13 loss to the Chiefs. Head coach Gary Kubiak removed Manning from the game in the second half in favor of backup Brock Osweiler, but Kubiak took the blame for Manning’s poor showing afterward. Kubiak said that he “made a bad decision” in playing Manning, who entered the game with a rib injury (Twitter link via Troy Renck of The Denver Post). Kubiak added, “Peyton is our quarterback,” per Renck (via Twitter).
Osweiler was better than Manning on Sunday, completing 14 of 24 passes for 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception. But he doesn’t expect to parlay that into increased playing time. After the game, the fourth-year man echoed Kubiak and threw his support behind Manning. “Peyton is our QB,” he said, according to Renck (Twitter link). “We all support him 100 percent. I don’t expect to start.”
Browns head coach Mike Pettine will have a hard time taking the starting job away from Johnny Manziel and giving it back to Josh McCown after Manziel’s Sunday showing, writes Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com. Though the Browns dropped a 30-9 decision to Pittsburgh, Manziel was impressive in completing 33 of 45 passes for 372 yards. In Manziel’s previous start, a 31-10 loss to the Bengals in Week 9, the second-year man hit on 15 of 33 throws for 168 yards. From at least a statistical standpoint, then, Manziel significantly improved this week. Pettine acknowledged as much, saying (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com), “He took a big step forward.”

Sunday Roundup: O’Brien, Harbaugh, Lacy

November 15th, 2015 at 12:45pm CST by Rory Parks

As the early Week 10 games get underway, let’s take a look at some notes from around the league:

Texans owner Bob McNair is understandably disappointed with his club’s performance this year under second-year head coach Bill O’Brien, and rumors persist that O’Brien could be on his way out at the end of the season while GM Rick Smith, long a McNair favorite, could stay in Houston. If that happens, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that O’Brien is “very intrigued” by the head coaching job at the University of Maryland, which is a more attractive position than some outsiders may realize. O’Brien fits Maryland’s criteria–a relatively young offensive mind who can run a quality pro-style offense–and he previously served as an assistant coach with the Terrapins. Current Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich is also reportedly interested in the job.
Although it was expected that Texans TE Ryan Griffin would play this week, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle reports that the team did not activate Griffin from the Injured Reserve-Designated To Return list before a Saturday afternoon deadline, meaning he will have to wait until next week to get back into game action. As Wilson writes, Griffin has recovered from a sprained MCL suffered during the season-opener against Kansas City, but he is still working his way back into football shape.
After Michigan’s narrow win over Indiana last night, an Indiana-based reporter began to ask Wolverines head coach–and former Colts quarterback–Jim Harbaugh if he would have any interest in the Colts head coaching position should it become available at the end of the season, as is widely expected. Per Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com, Harbaugh did not allow the reporter to finish the question, saying simply, “Stop. Just stop yourself. No comment.”
Eddie Lacy was a surprise entry on the Packers‘ inactive list today, but he has disappointed all season. Some of Lacy’s struggles can be attributed to injury, some to poor blocking, and some to Lacy’s physical condition (he is noticeably heavier than last year). As Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com writes, Lacy is facing a crossroads in his young career, and Green Bay hopes that the emergence of James Starks, coupled with Lacy’s difficulties, will spur the latter back to his previous level of success.
Mark Kiszla and Troy Renck of The Denver Post debate whether the Broncos should give backup quarterback Brock Osweiler some snaps down the stretch in order to preserve Peyton Manning for what will likely be his last playoff run. As long as a first-round bye is at stake, Osweiler will remain on the sidelines, unless the outcome of a particular game is no longer in doubt.
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com breaks down the upcoming free agent and trade markets for quarterbacks.

Breer’s Latest: P. Manning, Browns, L.A.

November 13th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a widely-held assumption in NFL circles that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will call it a career after the 2015 season and will subsequently find work as an NFL executive, says Albert Breer of the NFL Network in his latest column. According to Breer, Cleveland and Tennessee are frequently mentioned as potential landing spots for the future Hall-of-Famer, with Indianapolis and New Orleans “not to be completely discounted” either.

It’s not clear whether or not Manning would be immediately effective if he were to transition into a decision-making role in a team’s front office so soon after his playing career ended. Still, as Breer observes, “it’s easy to figure someone with Manning’s football acumen would be able to figure things out on the fly, so long as the right structure existed around him.”

Here are a few more items of interest from Breer’s column:

While the Browns made clear to other teams that they were open for business prior to the deadline, some of their potential trade chips – such as Joe Thomas and Paul Kruger – drew interest, while others – like Barkevious Mingo – didn’t. According to Breer, some potential trade partners had trouble determining “who was carrying the hammer” in Cleveland, since GM Ray Farmer said he’d have to check with other members of the organization before engaging in serious discussions.
Continuing to address the Browns, Breer notes that, internally, the team doesn’t see chain of command as having been an issue this year, including at the deadline. Other clubs viewed Cleveland as being indecisive “when the heat was turned up” though.
There continues to be steady progress on getting the NFL back to Los Angeles, according to Breer, who provides an update from this week’s relocation committee meetings. As Breer details, some owners are concerned about allowing a team to bend relocation guidelines in order to move, so that club must provide a strong case that its existing market has failed.
While there’s no guarantee the Seahawks make a second-half run – as they did last season – the team is confident it still has an impressive core in place. “The guys here feel like once they play for each other the way they know they can, there’s something really strong here,” one Seahawks source tells Breer.

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