The Broncos have signed Peyton Manning and begun signing other free agents for what they hope will be a Super Bowl roster they can build around their new quarterback. But one issue remains unresolved: What happens if Manning gets hurt?
The answer may be, the Broncos would turn to Caleb Hanie: Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post reports that the Broncos are aggressively chasing Hanie to be Manning’s backup.
If Broncos boss John Elway believes Hanie is the right man to be the No. 2 quarterback behind a starter who’s 36 years old and coming off multiple neck surgeries, well, that’s an odd decision. Ask the folks in Chicago how it feels to put your faith in Hanie when your starter goes down: The Bears appeared poised for a run to the playoffs last season until Jay Cutler got hurt and they had to turn to Hanie, and with Hanie at the helm Chicago’s season went into the toilet.
Then again, Elway said he went into the Manning chase expecting everything to turn out well and not preparing for failure, and maybe this is just another example of that attitude: Maybe the Broncos feel so confident that they’ll put all their chips on Manning and not even worry about who the backup is.
But once the season begins, if Manning takes a hard hit and Hanie starts warming up, Broncos fans will be worried.