Denver Broncos: Would It Make Any Sense to Move on from Peyton Manning in 2015?

According to Mike Wilkening of ProFootballTalk, Peyton Manning is preparing to play in 2015. That's not quite the whole story, though, as Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reported the Denver Broncos may not want to bring him back.

Not only is there a chance the Broncos could move on from Manning, but there's also the potential the 38-year-old may not pass a physical. While fans of the NFL spent the past month wondering what Manning will choose to do, few considered the possibility the Broncos may not want to retain the quarterback.

Why, exactly, did we all overlook this possibility? Because it makes almost no sense.

Possible Replacements for Manning

Unless the Broncos know something that we don't know about Brock Osweiler, then handing him the starting job isn't a decision that will turn in a Super Bowl next season. Denver was built by John Elway with the mindset of winning now, and it seems that he may be considering abandoning that. While the Broncos went 12-4 last season, the Indianapolis Colts eliminated them in the divisional round.

Maybe Osweiler is the answer and is just a star who is waiting in the shadows. Let's go ahead and just assume that's not the case, though, and check out a few potential options for the Broncos if they choose to part ways with Manning.

2015 NFL Draft Possibilities

Based on the fact that the Broncos have the 28th pick in the 2015 NFL draft, they better have a plan in place to steal Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. The other option is to hope that Brett Hundley or Garrett Grayson are NFL-ready right out of the gate, which seems unlikely.

The quarterback class in 2015 features some intriguing prospects, but few of the options (Hundley and Grayson included) seem ready to be immediate starters.

This leads to one possible outcome, which is that they leap into the top five and grab whichever quarterback the Tampa Bay Buccaneers choose not to select. That's still unlikely, especially since a good number of teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, may be interested in doing that exact same thing.

Consensus: Either bring Manning back and draft a quarterback to groom, or trade up for Winston or Mariota.

2015 Free-Agency Possibilities

According to Spotrac.com, you can find the following list of quarterbacks in 2015 free agency. Note that I've only included the options who could be considered as starters or who were starters at some point in 2014.

• Jake Locker
• Michael Vick
• Kyle Orton
• Christian Ponder
• Mark Sanchez
• Shaun Hill
• Brian Hoyer
• Ryan Mallett
• Colt McCoy
• Austin Davis
• Ryan Lindley
• Case Keenum
• Jimmy Clausen

Does anything on that list jump out? Hoyer or Locker are probably the two most intriguing options, but it's tough to mark them as players who can keep the Broncos as serious Super Bowl contenders. While it's a good list of potential backup quarterbacks, I wouldn't say this list includes many strong options to replace Manning.

Consensus: Either sign Hoyer or Locker and hope they can produce at a high level in Denver's offense.

The Team Built Through the 2014 Offseason

The Broncos brought in DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Emmanuel Sanders through 2014 free agency. Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated likely put it best when stating that "the Broncos are in full Super Bowl-or-bust mode" when reviewing their offseason acquisitions.

So, would parting ways with Manning mean they've given up on the "Super Bowl-or-bust" mantra? It seems that way.

While The Landry Hat pointed out that Ware slowed down late in the 2014 season, he was still a strong player on the Denver defense.

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In truth, Dallas cut Ware a season too late. All the signs to cut Ware were evident in 2012. Ware finished that season with 11.5 sacks, but only 2.5 of those came in the second half of the season. Ware had logged 5.5 sacks in December alone a season before, but at 30 years old in his eighth season, the 16-game grind left him with little in the tank for the money month in 2012.

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The Broncos have more than enough talent to contend for a Super Bowl again this coming year, but they'll need to bring Manning back and get him as healthy as possible. According to Fox Sports, Manning played the playoff game against the Colts with a torn right quad muscle.

Manning playing the final month of the season at less than 100 percent explains quite a bit. His statistics before the home stretch also prove that he's more than capable of still playing at a high level. We saw Manning have a run of three games from Week 6 to Week 8 where he completed 74.2 percent of his passes, while throwing 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions.

Manning may not be the quarterback he was five years ago, but he's still the best option for the Broncos to make one more push at a Super Bowl in 2015 before he calls it a career.