Many have wondered how long into the season it will be before we see Peyton Manning start getting banged up. As it turns out, not long. As Leo just pointed out, he is listed on the team’s injury report with a back injury. However, he was a full participant on Monday and Tuesday’s practice. This brings up a number of questions:
1) Was this a pre-existing condition that was exacerbated by the multiple big hits he took? We have no way of knowing that, although if so it may come out at a later date.
2) Will he and should he play in the game tomorrow? He certainly will play of course. Should he? Yes, it’s too early to think about not playing him due to anything less than a severely debilitating injury. We can safely assume this is not the case if he fully practiced both days. If this were a Week 10 Thursday Night game and his throwing ability was genuinely hampered, this would be a very different conversation. The Broncos have trotted him out before when he was unable to play effectively and tried to cover it up with the game plan. It’s my hope to see less of that this year.
3) Is this the start of a trend? That’s the 15 million dollar question and we really don’t know. If he keeps taking the kind of hits he did on Sunday, then the chances are that it could be.
4) Should you load up on some Manning/Anderson/Thomas in your FanDuel/DraftKing action this weekend? Probably not if you like money.
5) Am I making too big a deal of this? Probably but the fact is that Peyton’s physical state is a gigantic factor in the Bronco’s prospects. Any physical issue that becomes public will be scrutinized. CJ Anderson’s health is probably a bigger deal for tomorrow. If he significantly hampered, the Broncos should consider limiting or even sitting him. It’s a long season and there are two capable runners behind him.
6) Are the Broncos just messing with KC only to have Peyton come out and replicate Brock’s first play bomb? Let’s hope so.