Peyton Manning’s Options for 2016 Limited

Peyton Manning - BroncosReports out of Denver over the past few weeks state that Peyton Manning wants to come back to play in 2016, and also that he has no interest in serving as the backup to Brock Osweiler if/when healthy (although Manning later called that report “Bullshit”). If you combine that with the assumption that the Broncos plan to move forward with Brock Osweiler in 2016—a move that will necessitate a new, presumably good sized contract for their young quarterback—and it seems even more unlikely that the Broncos will be interested in paying Manning his $19 million base salary.

That leaves the inevitable question—if Manning wants to start in 2016, where would that most likely occur? Would a team that feels it might be a quarterback away from a serious playoff run take a chance on the aged veteran? Could a hometown team make a run? Would a team with their own quarterback injury woes in 2015 pair him with a superstar wide receiver? Or maybe a team would like to bring him in to serve as a one year mentor for a quarterback who has struggled to adapt to the pro game?

Here’s our top potential landing spots for Peyton Manning in 2016:

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