Peyton Manning's release is all but certain to come on Wednesday after late Tuesday reports had the long-time Indianapolis Colts quarterback hitting the free agent market following the team's decision not to pay the $28 million roster bonus he was due later on Thursday. And now the rampant, wild speculation will only become wilder and more speculative with his release. Obviously, we can argue the Broncos might entertain the idea. We mention it in the above link, and so does ESPN's Bill Williamson:
I also wouldn’t be shocked if Denver, at least, thinks about adding Manning. Denver’s top decision maker is legendary quarterback John Elway. He won his two Super Bowls at the age of 37 and 38. Manning turns 36 in 18 days.
Aside from the poor grammar in the first sentence, it's a fair assessment. But would it be correct for the Broncos really to pursue him?
We've known for months that Manning was going to be released even though this played out in high drama for just as long. Elway has said for some time now that Tim Tebow is the quarterback entering training camp. While it's certainly in his best interest to say that (since talking about other players under contract would be a violation of league rules), suddenly changing course tells us that long-term issues and priorities aren't taken care of in a systematic way.
If Tebow is the starter heading into training camp, then that needs to be the plan now and for the next few months. And trust me, if Manning did sign with the Broncos for some reason, he would be the starter heading into camp.
So, for now, we're just creating a false narrative when we try to connect the Broncos and Manning.