Top 5 Broncos Storylines Of The First Half Of 2016
DENVER (CBS4) - It's been a whirlwind for the Denver Broncos in 2016, both on and off the football field. From a Super Bowl Championship, to a White House visit, and a very important contract negotiation, the Broncos have seen a little bit of everything in the first few months of 2016.
Here's my take the Top 5 Broncos storylines of the first half of 2016:
1. Super Bowl 50 win over Carolina
This will top every list when you talk about the Broncos season. A 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers gave the Broncos their third Lombardi Trophy and capped off a historic season. Von Miller was named MVP, and it was the ideal ending to the Hall of Fame career of Peyton Manning.
2. Peyton Manning Retires
Speaking of that Manning guy, his future was all the rage leading up to Super Bowl 50. Manning stayed true to form and didn't make any retirement announcement until weeks after the Broncos victory. Manning retires as the NFL's leader in career passing touchdowns (539), career passing yards (71,940), most passing touchdowns in a season (55), most passing yards in a season (5,477), just to name a few.
3. Von Miller Contract Dispute
Oh, you haven't heard? Von Miller and the Broncos are currently in the middle of a contract dispute that has threatened the Super Bowl MVP's future in Denver. The Broncos slapped Miller with the franchise tag, but Miller wants a long-term deal. He has threatened to sit out the 2016 season if the two sides can't reach a deal. Von is looking for more guaranteed money (say, somewhere in the $60 million range) and the two sides have until a July 15th deadline to get a deal done.
4. Brock Osweiler Signs with the Houston Texas
So Peyton Manning retires, but it's okay because Brock Osweiler will be the starting quarterback, right? Wrong. Osweiler taking over for Peyton seemed like a safe bet until he signed a long-term deal for big time money with the Houston Texas. Osweiler played in eight games in 2015 completing 170 passes for 1,967 yards. His signature win came in the Broncos 30-24 win over the Patriots. He was so impressive the Texans signed him to a four-year $72 million deal.
5. Quarterback Competition
So with Manning retiring and Osweiler leaving for Houston, who's next? That's the big question. The Broncos completed OTA's with Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian, and Paxton Lynch all competing for the starting job. According to Gary Kubiak, Sanchez and Siemian are eye-to-eye and ahead of Lynch, but Kubiak is saying the team is still looking for more "consistency." It will be interesting to see who gets the start job during training camp. My guess would be that it's Sanchez's job when the Broncos take the field against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8th.
Michael Spencer is a Sports Anchor at CBS4. Read his bio or connect with him on Twitter @MichaelCBS4.