How do you tell one of the league's legends — really the one or two players that have transcended the entire NFL over this century — that he can't play anymore?
This situation is coming up fast for Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak. Either he tells Peyton Manning, a five-time MVP and the holder of almost every significant career and single-season passing record, he'll back up Brock Osweiler, or he tries to sell the team on a switch back to Manning, who had 17 interceptions in nine games.
Kubiak must be thankful that Manning's foot injury is postponing having to really deal with one of the trickiest situations any coach could be in. But the day is coming.
Kubiak said Wednesday that Manning's cast is off, though he's still in a walking boot. Troy Renck of the Denver Post said Manning will get his boot off Friday, then have 7-10 more days of rehab (as for plans beyond this year, Renck reported that Manning said, "I haven't thought about anything but getting healthy"). Kubiak did not indicate he has decided on who will start when Manning is healthy. Osweiler said that has never been discussed with him either.
"We're totally committed to getting [Manning] back," Kubiak said, according to the Broncos' Twitter feed. "Nothing has changed."
It's hard to find anyone who thinks Kubiak would change course now and go back to Manning. The Broncos have won two in a row with Osweiler at quarterback, against a resurgent Chicago Bears team on the road and then a thriller in overtime against a New England Patriots team that was 10-0. The Broncos are running Kubiak's offense, with the quarterback under center, and the offense has looked much better with Osweiler. Manning had a 67.6 rating before an injury forced him out, and looked like you'd expect a 39-year-old quarterback with multiple neck surgeries to look. Osweiler has an 88.4 rating. He has one interception in his two starts. Manning was on pace for 30 interceptions, a mark nobody has reached since 1988.
The Broncos are a better team with Osweiler. But how does someone tell Manning that?
Kubiak has been very careful to avoid talking about this subject. He usually frames everything in a "week by week" answer, which helps delay what will be a massive story, no matter what he chooses. The Broncos even took the rare step Wednesday of publicly denying a report that anything had been decided. Manning has never been second string in the NFL. Aside from the 2011 season, which he missed entirely due to a neck injury, this is the first time he has ever missed any games in his NFL career.
So what does Kubiak do? Go back to Manning, even though it's pretty clear Osweiler should be the starter? Or tell one of the game's greatest, most popular and most respected players that he'll be a backup the rest of the season as the 9-2 Broncos try to win a championship with him on the sideline? There's no exact precedent for this. Whatever Kubiak decides will be an enormous story. He has to manage the situation very carefully. The move itself might be obvious — to stick with Osweiler, who has all of two career starts — but it's an almost impossible situation to massage in a way that will make everyone happy.
Good luck, Gary. This is not going to be easy.
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