Three years ago, quarterback Peyton Manning was interested in the Texans, but the Texans weren’t interested in him. Earlier this year, the Texans reportedly had another chance to get him.
According to Benjamin Allbright of 94.1 FM in Denver, the Broncos tried to trade Manning to Houston during the offseason. He cites “two unrelated official sources” for the report, adding that “certain elements” of the Broncos organization wanted the Brock Osweiler era to start in 2015.
My first reaction was to scoff, but then I remembered this item from PFT regarding the presence of a no-trade clause for 2015 in Manning’s revised contract. Manning didn’t need to ask for a no-trade clause unless he feared that his restructured contract, with a base salary of only $15 million, would make another team more likely to do the deal.
We plan to promptly seek comment from both teams. For now, though, the notion that the Broncos explored the option of moving on from Manning — especially with a new head coach and new offensive coordinator — seems plausible.
UPDATE 8:22 p.m. ET: The Broncos quickly, and emphatically, have denied the report.