ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Curse of Peyton Manning is confounding the Broncos.
Russell Wilson did not have the magic potion. He was the latest quarterback to generate excitement upon his arrival, only to become unceremoniously discarded shortly thereafter. Almost all the focus on the announced Wilson release has been about the Broncos saving $37 million from their 2025 payroll.
How about the stunning realization the Broncos believe they are better off eating $39 million for Wilson to go away in 2024?
The search for a suitable quarterback since Peyton continues.
Broncos Country knew it would be a difficult adjustment post-Peyton after the 2015 season. But the fandom didn’t know it would be over.
Perhaps the football gods first became spiteful after the 2014 season, when Manning was asked by Broncos’ general manager John Elway to take a 21 percent pay cut, from $19 million to $15 million, for the 2015 season. Remember?
Elway seemed justified when Manning threw 17 interceptions against 9 touchdowns while missing seven starts with a heel injury during the regular season.
But Peyton showed ‘em.
Manning earned the $4 million back by, first, executing a $2 million incentive as the winning starting quarterback in the Broncos’ AFC Championship game against New England. He then triggered another $2 million incentive as the winning quarterback in Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers.
They call those difficult-to-earn incentives. Pshaw, said Peyton.
After that season, Manning got the feeling the Broncos wanted to move forward with his backup Brock Osweiler and retired rather than start all over at 40 years old with a new team.
And the Manning curse was born.
It should be noted Manning is not a bitter man. He has stayed in Denver to raise his family, and is a regular attendee at Broncos games. When he’s not at the center of attention – which is just about every time you turn on your TV set – he is pulling for the Broncos.
But the rabbit hole that has sucked in failed quarterback after failed quarterback since Manning retired cannot be explained as merely a coincidence.
The first to fall was Osweiler, who instead of becoming Manning’s heir apparent left for free agency and the Houston Texans.
The second choice to replace Manning was 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. But Kaepernick wouldn’t cut his guarantees in half to play for a Super Bowl winner so Elway instead signed free-agent Mark Sanchez and traded up five spots to select Paxton Lynch with the No. 26 pick in the first round of the 2016 draft.
The transition from Manning was to be a smooth one.
But then seventh-round longshot Trevor Siemian beat out both Sanchez and Lynch during the preseason. Sanchez was cut and Lynch was slow to develop as Siemian played surprisingly well in 2016, even if the Broncos fell short of the postseason with a 9-7 record.
In 2017, Siemian, Lynch and the return of Osweiler added up to 5-11.
In 2018, longtime backup Case Keenum was signed to an impressive two-year, $36 million contract and while he played every snap that season, it was enough for the Broncos to conclude he wasn’t a frontline starter.
So the Broncos gave former Baltimore Raven starter Joe Flacco a shot in 2019 while drafting Drew Lock behind him. Flacco suffered a midseason injury, allowing Lock to eventually step in. Lock finished strong with a 4-1 record.
Broncos Country was bullish on Drew Lock. For the first time in a while, the Broncos had evidence they had discovered their franchise quarterback.
Then came COVID. Lock needed the 2020 offseason work and the preseason perhaps more than any other. As the season played out, his stock tumbled to bearish. Coming off a 5-11 season, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur wanted a veteran quarterback, rather than Justin Fields with their No. 9 overall draft pick.
Understandable. And Teddy Bridgewater was brilliant through a 3-0 start in 2021 before he was knocked out with a concussion in week 4 and was never quite the same. The Broncos hung around playoff contention with a 7-6 record, but Bridgewater went down for good with a second concussion, the Broncos finished 7-10 and everybody was gone – Fangio, Shurmur, Bridgewater and Lock – by the start of the 2022 season.
Then came Russell Wilson amid much premature fanfare in 2022. And now Wilson is gone, or will be come next Wednesday.
Whether through injury or disappointing performance, the Broncos have been seemingly cursed in their search to find a franchise quarterback since Peyton retired. Just like the Red Sox endured an 86-year World Series title drought after selling off the Bambino. Just like the Chicago Cubs went 71 years without a World Series appearance after the Billy Goat was refused admission to a 1945 World Series game. Just like the Detroit Lions have yet to win it all since trading away a miffed Bobby Layne after the 1958 season.
Manning is not miffed, at least not any more than any other Broncos fan. But the quarterback drought has reached a deeper level of thirst. Jarrett Stidham is currently in position as the Broncos’ starting quarterback in 2024.
Chances are he will have to first win a fight.
The Broncos figure to add a veteran through free agency (Sam Darnold? Jacoby Brissett? Mason Rudolph? Ryan Tannehill?) or trade (Mac Jones? Fields?). And they have the No. 12 overall draft pick if they want to bring in a rookie like J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr. or whoever. Or they could draft a quarterback in the later rounds.
Where have you gone, Peyton Manning? Besides, you know, everywhere. Everywhere but under center for the Broncos.
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