Peyton Manning's Foot Injury Began in Training Camp, Reveals Father Archie

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has missed the past four weeks with a plantar fascia tear in his left foot.

Prior to the injury, Manning struggled mightily, throwing just nine touchdowns and a league-leading 17 interceptions through eight-plus games.

Now, his father Archie is saying the injury did not begin during a Week 10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he was forced to leave the game. In an interview with WDSU-TV in New Orleans (via Lionel Bienvenu of KMGH-TV in Denver), the elder Manning said it goes back much further:

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We talked about it. We talked a lot about it, you know, knowing when it’s time and stepping down and so forth. He felt good. He went back this year and he struggled again with injury. He really had this foot problem. It’s been going on for five or six months.

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Considering Manning's struggles—2015 has been by far his worst season—it makes sense that he was not 100 percent. When his production dropped over the final eight games of the 2014 season, ESPN's Adam Schefter later revealed Manning was playing with a torn quadriceps.

Manning is a competitor who rarely comes out of games or uses injuries as an excuse. However, if he's not fully mobile, there's no reason to put him on the field as Denver deals with offensive line issues, per Ed Werder of ESPN:

Brock Osweiler has fared well in Manning's absence, going 3-1, but it's no secret that the Broncos are winning because of their top-ranked defense, which has allowed the fewest points in the NFL this season.

If the injury lingers and Manning doesn't get back on the field, we may have seen the last of a future Hall of Famer, per WDSU-TV (via Bienvenu).

"Peyton’s got plenty of sense, so when everything’s done at the end of the year he’ll sit down and make a decision," Archie Manning said. "Whatever he does, Peyton will attack it. If he steps down, he’ll find something else and go after it. If he wants to play some more, he’ll go after it."

Peyton Manning may have sense, but he's also competitive and stubborn, like most elite athletes, and will do whatever he can to stay in uniform.

His status this year is up in the air, and head coach Gary Kubiak has already named Osweiler the starter in Week 15 despite the fact that Manning returned to practice this week.

The 10-3 Broncos lead the AFC West by two games, but this quarterback situation is not good. If Archie is right and the injury has lingered this long, Osweiler might be leading Denver in its quest for Super Bowl 50.