Could Peyton Manning Have Possibly Been Traded To The Houston Texans?

This off-season was nothing but great headlines from the Eagles signing DeMarco Murray, Buffalo Bills hiring Rex Ryan, and Eagles and Rams pulling off the Sam Bradford for Nick Foles trade. But there could have been another blockbuster trade this off-season involving Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. According to Benjamin Allbright the team attempted to trade the hall of fame quarterback to Houston Texans for Duane Brown, a First Round Pick, and Jadaveon Clowney, while Houston would get a Second Round pick in the deal as well.

Last season for Manning he threw for 4,727 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions with a passer rating of 101.5. Denver has a great season grabbing one of the top two seeds in the AFC and everything was looking great for Denver. Until they faced Indianapolis, the team that drafted Manning in 1999 and where he started his legacy, when the Colts beat the Broncos in the AFC Divisional round knocking them out of the playoffs and ending their Super Bowl dreams.

Manning is no doubt a first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer, there is a reason why he has been so great for 18 seasons. He has a great arm, he knows how to throw the ball down the field, and he knows how to read defenses. At his age most quarterbacks decline, but not Manning he just keep putting up MVP stats season after season.

This off-season, the Broncos fired John Fox and brought in former Houston Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak. Kubiak reportedly did not want Manning when he was with the Houston Texans in 2011 and Manning was the biggest free agent quarterback in the longest time. Now that he is with Broncos that might have had an influence on trying to trade the quarterback.

If this deal went down, the Broncos must of thought that backup Brock Osweiler was ready to take over. They would of gotten a great pass rusher in Clowney even though he missed a lot of time last season. He has a potential to become a elite pass rusher. The first round pick does not hurt as well that would probably be a top twenty pick. Brown would of helped a lot on the offensive line which is one of the biggest problems with Denver this upcoming season.

On the Houston side they would get an Hall of Fame quarterback with a great arm. But let’s be honest, Manning is in his late thirties. Now if this deal would have been ten or five seasons ago this would have been a no brainier because they would of gotten Manning in his prime and still get him for more than one or two seasons. But now since Manning is old and he would only really give them like two or three seasons, it is not worth giving up that much for a guy that is not going to be there for the long run. Only going to be there in the short term to help Houston win the Super Bowl. Houston does not even have a team ready for a Super Bowl run yet or a run at the AFC South title. Give the team two or three more seasons then they will be a strong team. They will be in contention for a playoff spot but most likely a wild-card spot is more possible then a division spot.