People are saying other teams would pick up Peyton?

I think Peyton will try for one more year, but this will be a tough fit for Peyton, even if he stays in Denver. There is no way he goes to a team needing a major rebuild like Tennessee or Tampa Bay, and I see it as unlikely he goes to a cold weather location like Buffalo. I wonder about some "wild card" possibilities like San Francisco or Miami where you could make a (probably very flawed) case for one year of Peyton trying to win it all while their young QB takes a back seat. The teams I see as more likely are Houston, St. Louis, and Arizona; none of those are "perfect fits" but neither was Denver when he got there.

One other thought I had was, considering the rumors about his possible post-playing career, it would be fascinating if he went to Cleveland.

Ivan said:

Jay Cutler says hi.

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I would agree except at the time Palmer was traded for a 1st and 2nd, he was essentially Ryan mallet.

Manning was playing well before his reported quad injury. Obviously at age 38 its tougher to stay healthy but he is still a top 5 QB. I expect him to play one more year with the Broncos.

Elway is bringing him back and letting him have input on the next HC, because, you know, having a coach come in half subservient to the QB is the way to create the hard, gritty, battle-ready team Elway is looking for

This is very similar to Brett Favre leaving Green Bay.

He hit the early passes in the game with decent throws. The question right now is IF his thigh (quadricep) had a tear, did it affect his play? Given the mechanics of a throw, it probably would. If that is the explanation, then he could still be an elite QB. In the second half of the season, Manning had a 90 QB rating. If that were his season rating, that is better than all but 16 QBs this season, and just below Flacco. It is 6 or 7 points worse than Brady and Luck this year. Is he what he once was if this game is really who he is? Absolutely not.

Even with the diminished abilities, he is better than many of the QBs out there. I know there is a "Ding, dong, the witch is dead" mentality after his last game. But in reality, there are many pretty lousy QBs starting right now. Based on his ability after a few months off, it is a question of his perceived value and what teams would spend to get him if he leaves Denver at all. To say he is done in the NFL if he wanted to play is a little unrealistic.

Now that Horse Faced Elway has stated that he wants Peyton back we can put to rest Peyton elsewhere. It never made sense to envision him playing for a cold stadium team anyway. Much tougher career stats padding in bad weather.
Anyone who thinks an aged Manning isn't better that at the very least the bottom 16 QBs in the league is crazy. Remember our vaunted team has sometimes struggled with and even lost to really crappy QBs.
The only way keeping Manning totally implodes is that age or worst of all recurring neck bolt problems (sincerely hope not) make him pretty much ineffective. He still throw a beautifully placed arcing ball. He just can't laser in the short to medium throws through coverage.
The bottom line is that it would take a super supporting cast with greatly improved defense for him to win the SB or even get there. Not. Gonna. Happen. in 2015.
Our known 2015 threats are a Ravens team with their myriad starters back from IR and weaknesses filled by draft & an improved Colts.

Agreed. The AFC is all Pats v Ravens and everything else is just fodder for a needy daily news cycle

supafly said:

I agree when looking at the big picture, but he was fairly competent with the Cardinals this season, with a 6-0 record as a starter prior to tearing his ACL.

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Palmer's career got a little altered when Pittsburgh took his knee out early on. He's good enough now.

I hope that P6 comes to the AFCE again, but I think we all know that isn't going to happen.
The NFCE is out also, because of the weather and Eli.
They'd squash him like a bug in the frigid AFCN and NFCN. He'll pass on those.
I doubt that he'll want to go to the NFCW or the AFCS and compete with those QBs either.
That only leaves two places for noodle arm. The NFCS or back with Denver.

I bet he stays in denver, he has say in who the next HC is.

It is still not certain how much of his late-season noodlyness was due to the quad injuries. If his zip and velocity in TC are similar to what they were early this year, I could see a couple of teams taking a chance on him.

I think Fox was bad in the sense that anyone who isn't top tier just seems bad by comparison (no innovation, no creativity), but Peyton just seems like a coach killer now.

alamo said:

This is very similar to Brett Favre leaving Green Bay.

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it's actually more like favre leaving the vikings

How many PSLs can you sell with Peyton? Hmm...

dealing with elway is like dealing with danny ainge.........the broncos will never win anything now.....but the locals will revere their hero until the end of time.......

This is exactly why you NEVER hire a guy who was a legend for your team.......impossible to get around when things start to slip....everyone esle, even the owner will shoulder all of the blame

as for manning, do you see who some teams have starting for them? he can certainly be a more effective solution as a game manager with a team that can run the ball......but the first thing that's going to have to happen is that his compensation will have to be less than 10M

On a team with good D and running game he can play a few more years.

Ross12 said:

How many PSLs can you sell with Peyton? Hmm...

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When he went to Denver it was all in for the SB. The rest of his years are all in to sell tickets.

I didn't watch the games except for @NE and the Divisional, but PM's stats for 2014 are 39 TDs, 4,700 passing yards, a 101 QB rating, 12 wins and a first round bye. Not bad for the most washed up QB in the league.

Not sure why he stinks it up in the playoffs. He might need a psychologist more than anything.

His playoff record might've looked better had Tom Brady chosen another profession other than NFL football.

reflexblue said:

I bet he stays in denver, he has say in who the next HC is.

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This is his best option. I would even hazard a guess that he might be given the role of QB coach and/or Assistant OC to determine game strategy and develop QBs. I dont think Brock O is going anywhere but they will most likely draft one and bring in an above average journeyman FA (like Fitzgerald or McCown). He has a great football mind and may want to round off his legend with a few coaching accolades.

The only stickler is, of course, his salary.... he's never been known to take less (though of course it's never about the money with P6 )