Does John Elway Have Jealousy of Peyton Manning that Will Cost the Denver Broncos

After Peyton Manning’s retirement and Brock Osweiler’s decision to sign with the Texans, John Elway may have pride issues that will cost the Denver Broncos.

Peyton Manning at a cheaper salary is the best option for the Denver Broncos next year. Peyton Manning at his advanced age and as a shell of himself is still better than half the quarterbacks in the NFL. Peyton Manning as that shell just did his part to help the Denver Broncos win a third Super Bowl.

But if the reports are true, Peyton Manning is not good enough to do what he just did in John Elway’s eyes. Again, if that is why he was forced into retirement, Elway just made the stupidest decision he could ever make.

Manning was the better option than Brock Osweiler from the start. He is clearly the best option now with Osweiler going to Houston.

With a team already loaded with veterans poised to win another Super Bowl, all Elway needs is a cerebral Manning to not screw up and make the plays when needed, as he did this past year. So Elway should get on his knees and beg Manning to come back to play out the final year of his contract.

Denver is still loaded on defense, even after losing Malik Jackson, another former Vol that they could replace. Manning may not be Manning, but he’s good enough to do what he just did this past year. He is much more of a sure bet than the inconsistent Mark Sanchez, who already proved he is a massive failure even when he has a great defense backing him up.

So why would Elway not do everything possible to bring Manning back?

The only explanation is jealousy. It appears that jealous and pride are what soured the relationship between the two, as Elway wanted to go with Osweiler last year. The only explanation is that Elway does not like anybody but him being the biggest star in Denver.

He is the Chip Kelly of general managers.

We know this much: John Elway is a prideful man. As the legend in Denver who took the Broncos to five Super Bowls and won two of them, it is clear that even if he does not go down as the greatest quarterback ever, he wants that No. 1 spot in Denver.

That showed from the minute he took over as general manager, when he did everything to belittle Tim Tebow despite the winning streak that the young quarterback went on. The star-power of Tebow and the fan support rallying around him caused Elway to do everything he could to shove Tebow out the back door. After all, he can’t have a guy he didn’t draft or select taking credit for his team’s wins.

Elway needed to make sure that if Denver returned to a Super Bowl, he got the credit. That also showed by immediately firing Josh McDaniels and hiring John Fox. He then struck gold by bringing in Peyton Manning, allowing himself to force out Tebow. And he even later showed it by getting rid of Willis McGahee and playing a dirty trick to force out Elvis Dumervil.

All of this was an effort to make sure any credit of the Broncos success went to Elway. Even if Manning went down as a greater quarterback than Elway, Elway would be the bigger Broncos legend because any success Manning had in Denver could be attributed to Elway.

But over the past year, according to inside reports, Elway’s pride and jealousy went way too far, as he did everything possible to force Manning out the back door as well. Perhaps he couldn’t take the recognition Manning was getting by breaking all these passing records in Denver. Perhaps the minute Elway realized he had put together a great defense and did not need a great quarterback to win a Super Bowl, he decided he go with Osweiler, which meant he wouldn’t have to share the superstar spotlight with Manning.

Heck, hiring Gary Kubiak alone was proof Elway wanted to win without Manning being the star.

To be fair to Elway and Kubiak, it all worked. The Broncos clearly won a Super Bowl doing it. But instead of keeping the team in tact to win potentially another Super Bowl, if the reports are accurate, Elway decided to blow up the team.

Oh, they don’t say that outright, and they don’t say Elway decided to force his starting quarterback out the back door. But it is the only explanation when you put everything together.

And it is unfortunate.

Elway is a great quarterback. He is a great GM. He will always be the greatest Bronco ever for delivering them now three Super Bowls and playing a huge role in them going too four more.

But it appears to not be enough. He has to be the face of Denver, even as a GM. And he is going to do it at the expense of the team, the same team he put together to be great in the first place.

With his jealousy of Manning, Elway will fall into the same category as Jim Buss and Chip Kelly. And while it doesn’t nullify what he just did, it nullifies what he could have done in the future.

Swallow your pride John Elway. Bring back Peyton Manning. It is best for everybody.