The Broncos are together again for the first time since the celebration that followed the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory. But both of the top two quarterbacks are gone, replaced (for now) by Mark Sanchez.
In a session with reporters on Monday, receiver Emmanuel Sanders talked about Sanchez, Peyton Manning, and Brock Osweiler.
As to Sanchez, Sanders said the newcomer has created a “great impression” in his short time with the team, showing that he’s a “natural leader.”
“I can’t speak for everyone else, but I can speak for myself,” Sanders said. “I went out to California. I worked out with him. He’s been texting me all the time wanting to hang. Just going out there to California, I can tell he wants to be a leader on this team, he wants to be the quarterback and he wants to be the guy. I was impressed by his arm strength. I was impressed with the throws he was making. I’ve been here around the locker room and he’s been spending extra time in the facility. That’s the type of guy that we need.”
They need that type of guy in large part because Manning and Osweiler are gone.
“It definitely feels weird not having [Manning] around because I’ve been with him for two years,” Sanders said. “Seeing him around and not having his presence in the locker room, it feels a little weird. That’s my brother. We definitely miss him around here. We want to talk about just a great locker room guy, a great leader of this team. He’s going to be forever missed in this locker room, but guys have got to step up. . . . The good thing is Peyton gave us the blueprint of how to go about doing it. Spending time off the field, getting to know guys, so we’re going to continue to follow that blueprint.”
There’s another blueprint that Sanders hopes Osweiler will create, given the $72 million contract he signed with the Texans.
“Man, he got a big deal,” Sanders said. “I live in Houston and I texted him and I told him, ‘Hey, look, you better take me out to dinner. As a matter of fact, you better buy me a car or something.’”
Sanders could buy a car of his own (or a few) if he gets a contract that would replace the $5.6 million he’s due to earn in 2016, the last year of his current deal.
“I mean this sincerely,” Sanders said. “The city of Denver has been really good to me. I want to be a Bronco. I want to be a Bronco for a long time. I want to retire a Bronco. Hopefully everything works out. I’m sure both sides will come to something.”
If not, Sanders will need Sanchez or someone else to be able to deliver the ball often enough to allow Sanders to create the kind of numbers that will maximize his worth on the open market.