Broncos letting Manning take his time; Gary Kubiak praises Osweiler

INDIANAPOLIS — The Super Bowl afterglow doesn’t last long these days, but Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said he’s in no hurry to figure out who his starting quarterback will be next season.

Peyton Manning could retire. Brock Osweiler could be an unrestricted free agent. No worries — Kubiak said the team is in “no hurry” to make a decision on either.

“We want [Manning] to take his time and we’ll work from there,” Kubiak said Wednesday at the Indianapolis scouting combine. Will the band get back together again for 2016? (AP)

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But there is a deadline. Come March 9, which is the start of free agency, Manning’s $19 million salary becomes guaranteed and Osweiler would be a free agent. But Kubiak says he doesn’t feel uneasy about what might happen over the next two weeks.

“I think with free agency, there’s obviously time frames in our business,” he said. “We went through this last year, and we’ll go through it again.”

Kubiak said he spoke with Manning briefly on Tuesday and that he believes general manager John Elway and Manning have spoken multiple times. The plan, Kubiak said, is similar to last year when the team ended up asking Manning to take a pay cut to stay with the Broncos, which paid off in the form of a Super Bowl title.

“Well I think the bottom line is, I think, we’ve made a decision on how we’re going to go about it,” Kubiak said. “Once again it’s about working through things. There’s no hurry here. We want him to enjoy what just took place.”

As for Osweiler, Kubiak made it clear — he really likes his young quarterback who held the fort while Manning dealt with a foot injury, among other ailments.

“I think he has a bright future,” Kubiak said. “He started seven games, played against some really tough people in some tough situations. We think the world of him. … He’s been really special this year, and I think he’s grown a great deal.”

That kind of talk makes it sound that Osweiler will be back in one way, shape or form. As for the lack of clarity with Manning, it’s unclear how the Broncos will handle things, but they are paying him the respect to make a decision on his future.

You know, before he has to on March 9.