Broncos Rumors: Manning, V. Miller, Talib

In a press conference today, Broncos general manager John Elway insisted that there’s no timetable for Peyton Manning‘s retirement decision, and that the team intends to give him all the time he needs. However, that’s probably not exactly the case, writes Mike Klis of 9NEWS.

As Klis outlines, Manning’s 2016 base salary of $19MM becomes fully guaranteed on March 9th, so the Broncos will need a decision from their quarterback sometime within the next month. Having been unwilling to pay Manning a fully guaranteed $19MM salary a year ago, when he was coming off a solid season, the Broncos certainly won’t want to lock that amount in for 2016, so if Manning still hasn’t made a decision by then, the team would likely have to cut him. Of course, it’s hard to imagine the 39-year-old taking that long to decide on his future.

Here’s more on the Super Bowl champs:

  • Elway said today that Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan, two key free-agents-to-be, will be priorities this offseason, adding that he plans to start talking to their representatives right away (Twitter link via Lindsay Jones of USA Today). However, the GM did acknowledge that “it’s a fluid situation and our budget is only so big” (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post).
  • The Broncos’ top priority this offseason figures to be retaining Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, and Elways said today that “the goal is always to get a long-term deal” (Twitter link via Jhabvala). Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap goes in-depth to explore what a long-term extension for Miller might look like.
  • Meanwhile, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com says (via Twitter) that Denver should consider the exclusive franchise tag for Miller. Teams generally use the non-exclusive tag to franchise players, but that leaves the door open for another club to sign the player to an offer sheet. For most players, that risk isn’t significant, since a rival team would have to give up two first-round picks in addition to the big-money offer sheet, but an elite pass rusher like Miller might be worth it.
  • A source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the NFL will consider suspending Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib for his dangerous – and intentional – face-mask penalty in the Super Bowl.
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