Four weeks ago, PFT reported that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning currently intends to play in 2016, and that he has told teammates he intends to play in 2016. And then everyone in Denver went berserk.
Today, Ian Rapoport of the league-owned media conglomerate offered up something far more inflammatory. His colleagues at NFL Media promptly went berserk.
Rapoport reported that Manning, who has always been a starting quarterback, has no interest in serving as the backup to Brock Osweiler if/when Manning is healthy. Rapoport also reported that Manning currently isn’t healthy, which means that what he wants to do or doesn’t want to do doesn’t really matter at this point.
Rapoport never said Manning will refuse to serve as the backup or ask to be released, if it ever comes to that. Still, the implication of the report -- which was coupled by a graphic that focused on the portion of Rapoport’s report regarding Manning’s lack of interest in being the backup -- triggered an eruption at the NFL Network desk, with Marshall Faulk, Michael Irvin, Kurt Warner, and Steve Mariucci both calling out Manning for refusing to serve as the backup (if/when it ever comes to that) and not-so-subtly questioning the accuracy of the report.
“This is a serious allegation,” Faulk said multiple times, adding that he needs to hear it from Peyton himself before Marshall will believe it.
It’s obvious that Peyton doesn’t want to serve as a backup. Who does? Starters don’t want to be backups. Backups don’t want to be backups. Football players want to play football.
Manning remains injured. Will it get awkward if/when he’s healthy enough to play and the team decides to stick with Osweiler? Sure. Will Manning ever say or do anything to suggest that he’s anything other than the best possible teammate, deferring to the decisions of his coach and the structure of his team? Absolutely not.
If he’s healthy enough to play and in turn the team decides to keep him on the bench, he’ll embrace that role -- even if he doesn’t like it.
For now, none of that matters, because Peyton isn’t healthy. Still, the suggestion that he’d refuse to serve as Brock Osweiler’s backup creates an impression that is both inaccurate and premature. Rapoport may have not intended to create that impression, but it appears that (at a minimum) the entire production lacked the communication and coordination necessary to prevent Rapoport’s report from being interpreted in a way other than the way he meant it to be interpreted.