5 teams desperate enough to sign Peyton Manning in 2016

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Nov 23, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) and Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) talk before the game against the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos defeated the Dolphins 39-36. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

player. 45. . AFC. West. Denver Broncos. 1

Believe or not, the Denver Broncos are probably going to be the team most desperate employ Peyton Manning for the 2016 NFL season. General manager and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway went all in on building a winner for the 2015 NFL season by overspending and building a roster of star free agents that are on the verge of decline.

This 2015 Denver team will look very little like the team it fields in 2016. Not only is Manning a free agent, but so is his backup Brock Osweiler. Even if he re-signs Osweiler, is Elway sure that the former Arizona State Sun Devil is ready to lead the Broncos on a full-time basis?

Denver won’t have a high enough draft pick to select either one of the three first round quarterbacks in the 2016 NFL Draft – Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch, and Carson Wentz will all be long gone before Denver’s number is called – and, really, this year’s quarterback crop is thinner than in recent drafts.

In an effort to save face, Denver may need to consider bringing back The Sheriff for one more NFL season just to give Broncos fans something to cheer about, in what might end up being a 1998 Florida Marlins type of fire sale in the Mile High City.

Should Manning lead the Broncos to an upset victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, he may want to try his luck at repeating and going out at the end of the 2016 NFL season. Manning could conceivably end his NFL career in the same manner as Elway did as a two-time defending Super Bowl Champion should he hang on with Denver in 2016.

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