Broncos' farewell to Peyton Manning also included veiled pitch at Brock Osweiler
For seven minutes Monday, Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak stood at the podium of Peyton Manning's retirement news conference and tried to make a long story short. He thanked the quarterback for the time they had together and talked about facing him as an opposing coach. He spoke of fortitude and shared an amusing anecdote about Manning flipping the bird to a practice camera during his injury rehabilitation. Finally, almost nervously, Kubiak arrived to what mattered most. Specifically, how Manning regained his starting job last season, and how Brock Osweiler ended up on the bench again.
It was an awkward marriage of testimonial and explanation, thanking the outgoing Manning while extending a hand to Osweiler. That's how you arrived at Kubiak on Monday, thanking his Super Bowl-winning quarterback while simultaneously sharing private moments that framed him as a determined instigator of change.
First, when Manning came out of his cast …
"He comes out of the cast and we sit down, and I said 'OK, what's the next step? What do we do here?'" Kubiak said. "And he said, 'Well, it's time to go back to work. I want to come back. I want to play. I want to finish this thing out the right way.'"
And then late in the regular season, when Manning pushed to return to the lineup …
"Before I knew it, the only people left in the [practice] bubble were Peyton and I and a bag of footballs," Kubiak said. "For five minutes, I proceeded to tell him what I thought was going on with our team and where we were at. For the next 25 minutes, Peyton proceeded to tell me where he was, what he thought our team could do, and that he was ready to lead our team in that direction. And he was right. He was right."
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Not everyone will see the sales pitch in these moments. For Brock Osweiler, those statements make it sound like the benching came more from Manning pushing than Kubiak making the decision completely on his own. Even the way Kubiak described the late-season conversation smacks of a coach suggesting he had to be convinced to make a change.
"For five minutes, I proceeded to tell him…"
"For the next 25 minutes, Peyton proceeded to tell me …"
"And he was right …"
None of this should be surprising. After all, Denver is on the verge of an embarrassing problem if Osweiler departs. He was drafted for exactly this scenario – to be groomed as Manning's eventual replacement. Now that time is here, but failing to sign Von Miller to a contract extension put the franchise into a place where it can't use the franchise tag as an emergency measure to keep the quarterback of its future. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles kept Sam Bradford away from the market. The Washington Redskins kept Kirk Cousins protected. And that left Osweiler as the best available prospect in a quarterback-starved market. With another attractive bidder in play, no less.
That's where the Houston Texans come in – with money to spend and a quarterback need that can't be immediately resolved with their late first-round pick. From the standpoint of what is available and the typical factors involved (youth, fit and skills), Osweiler is the best available option. And with the Texans needing to make some immediate impact with their next quarterback, it makes Osweiler very valuable.
All of which explains what began happening late last week, when other NFL executives began to talk about the Texans being a serious bidder if Manning retired and Osweiler made it to the free-agent market. Suddenly, the Broncos' initial hopes – that $12 million a year would get a deal done – were obliterated. It wasn't happening. Not with Bradford signing a two-year deal worth $36 million (with $26 million guaranteed). And not with Cousins getting almost $20 million under the franchise tag next season.
By Monday, one general manager told Yahoo Sports that Osweiler getting a per-year average of $16 million was a "legitimate number," and that he also had Houston pegged as the team that would ultimately bid against Denver when free agency opened. Why? Pick one: Money, scheme, coach, division, money (yes, I said it twice). Or maybe there will be more specific selling points for Osweiler, like not having to follow Manning coming out of a Super Bowl win, or play for Kubiak after he was benched by the coach.
No matter what the pitch is from the other side of the fence, it's a worst-case scenario for Denver. Manning retiring and Osweiler leaving would mean that the draft preparation and grooming plan ultimately failed for one of two reasons: Either the team doesn't believe Osweiler is worthy of the money, or Denver wasn't prepared for this scenario. Either way, this has turned into a poor position coming out of a Super Bowl victory and moving to the next phase of development.
So now the NFL world waits, with quarterbacks like Robert Griffin III, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Colin Kaepernick all unsure of their potential destination. For now, the Texans hold the power in the pursuit of Osweiler – and along with it, can wrap their hands around a fairly sizable part of Denver's future. The sales pitch might be a little too late, in a process where money speaks as loudly as anything else.
