Peyton Manning Rumors: Broncos Are Best Bet to Land Star QB's Signature

The Peyton Manning sweepstakes is still in its infancy, but at this point, all signs point to the now-former Indianapolis Colts quarterback joining the Denver Broncos as part of a seismic shakeup in the Mile High City.

According to the Denver Post, Manning was "impressed with the Broncos," with whom he visited on Friday and Saturday. Manning met with head coach John Fox, owner Pat Bowlen and, of course, front office executive/franchise legend John Elway while he was there. No contract negotiations took place, though, as Manning made the trip without Tom Condon, his agent, in the hopes of treating his trips to prospective franchises more as fact-finding missions than opportunities for extraction.

Manning did have the opportunity to meet with old Colts teammates John Lynch and Brandon Stokley, the former having played for the Broncos before joining FOX as a broadcaster and the latter sitting on the team's roster at present.

The Arizona Cardinals, meanwhile, were said to have given Manning the "red carpet" treatment on Saturday and Sunday in the hopes of steering him to a somewhat less esteemed franchise.

Manning returned to his home in Miami on Sunday evening and is expected to meet with the Dolphins before rendering a final decision, perhaps as early as Tuesday.

There's still much to be done—and decided—between now and when Manning signs on the dotted line. He still has to hear the pitch from ambitious 'Fins owner Stephen Ross, not to mention those that may come from the Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers.

And, of course, Manning still has to loop his agent into the business side of it.

But, if one were to "call" this courtship right now, the Broncos would surely be the front runners. They're the only team to meet with Manning thus far that made the playoffs this past season and come equipped with an emerging receiver (Demaryius Thomas), a solid offensive line, a strong defense and a wealth of cap space.

What's more, their path into the playoffs is (and should be) a rather straightforward one for the foreseeable future, with the San Diego Chargers fading, the Oakland Raiders rebuilding (again) and the Kansas City Chiefs being...errr, the Kansas City Chiefs.

It certainly doesn't hurt Denver's case, either, to have a two-time Super Bowl champion calling the shots, one who (ironically enough) was so adamant about not being a Colt when he first came out of college that he threatened to play baseball, before forcing a trade to Denver.

As for Tim Tebow...well, Elway's never seemed completely sold on the kid's abilities, even after all the miraculous wins and the surprising AFC West title that he pulled out of his helmet in 2011. Elway still seems more interested in acquiring a more traditional quarterback of some sort.

And who better than Peyton Manning, assuming he's healthy?  

Whether that's enough to lure Manning to Mile High remains to be seen. For now, though, it seems surprisingly likely that the future Hall-of-Famer will be ditching one horse-mascot'd franchise for another.

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