It’s unclear whether Peyton Manning will play in 2016. To his father, it’s very clear that Peyton won’t play for the Broncos in 2016.
“I think Peyton’s done in Denver,” Archie Manning told Jeff Darlington of NFL Media. “I think Peyton’s done in Denver. He may be done everywhere. So that’s my — you know what? I don’t stick my nose in it, so I don’t know that. I don’t know that. But that’s my guess.”
Archie Manning is in a much better position to guess about Peyton’s future than most other people on the planet. And Archie’s guess suggests that, regardless of whether the Broncos want to bring Peyton back, Peyton isn’t willing to continue to run an offense that doesn’t fit his skills.
The question becomes whether there’s another team with a team in position to contend that would give Peyton the keys to the offense for 2016. The Rams reportedly are interested in him, and they’d surely let him run the offense however he wants.
We’ll find out Peyton’s plans soon enough. For now, there’s a clear piece of evidence to support the idea that, even if Peyton plays again, he’ll never play another game as a member of the Broncos.