Fansided

Peyton Manning injury seems like cover-up

By Matt Verderame

Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) acknowledges the crowd after passing the all time passing yard record during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 15, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) acknowledges the crowd after passing the all time passing yard record during the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Denver Broncos were 7-0, and Peyton Manning was healthy and reportedly ready to break out of his early-season funk. Then, the Broncos were 7-1, and the following week of practice saw Manning sit on Wednesday and Thursday before limited activity on Friday.

On Sunday, Manning put forth the worse performance of his National Football League career. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer completed just 5-of-20 passes for 35 yards with four interceptions. Manning was then benched for the first time in 14 years, and the Broncos dropped their second straight game, losing 29-13 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Come Monday morning, and suddenly Manning went from a little banged up to playing with a torn plantar fascia in his foot. In the afternoon, we were told by Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak that Brock Osweiler would be starting this coming Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

In the immediate aftermath of that announcement, ESPN’s NFL Insiders quietly dropped another nugget of knowledge. Chris Mortensen talked about how Manning has been dealing with this injury since July, something that has been aggravating him consistently.

If that’s the case, then Mortensen is negligent. How could a senior, respected reporter not let the football world in on an injury like that to one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time? When Manning had thrown nine touchdowns against 13 interceptions during the first half of the season, why wasn’t this brought up? Also, if this was truly the case and Manning has been hurt this entire time, what is Kubiak doing? The Broncos have been atrocious offensively all season despite their record. Why not let Manning get healthy and then bring him back?

The whole story of Manning have a foot injury compounded by a rib cage problem (for which he had an MRI on Monday) reeks of a cover-up. At 39 years old, it is painfully obvious Manning can’t play the quarterback position effectively. He lacks even the slightest amount of arm strength to throw the ball outside the numbers or over the safeties. Pundits like to mention all of his misfires down the field are overthrows, but that’s because Manning is launching his entire body into those throws, causing wild inaccuracy.

Denver can talk all it wants about Manning’s injuries, real or imagined. The Broncos have bigger problems, namely having an offense without a general, and a team that appears on the brink of a major slide. The lead in the AFC West is three games, but the hard-charging Chiefs could make things uncomfortable with a few more wins.

Manning’s career could be over, whether it is termed injury-related or for what it actually is; a benching of the greatest regular-season quarterback ever. And it was deserved.

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