Peyton Manning to Sit Against the Seahawks

Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos are going to face off against the Seattle Seahawks tomorrow, in the first preseason game of the year, and fans were excited to see how Manning looked. However, the Denver Broncos have now said that Manning is not going to play even a single snap in the game, so fans will have to wait.

This is the right move. It is a bit frustrating because the reports out of camp have been so good, and it would have been nice to see Manning in action after he had such a bad end to last season. Still, the Broncos have made the right call to go with Brock Osweiler.

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The first reason is that this is a contract year for the young quarterback. The Broncos have seen him in practice a lot, but he has almost no experience playing in actual games. Even some of his experience in the preseason has been with the second-string offense, against a second-string defense.

That doesn’t tell the coaches much about where he’s at. How are they supposed to know if he deserves a big contract without seeing what he can do?

Finally, fans and coaches alike will get to see Osweiler go against a first-string defense – and one of the best defenses in the NFL from last year – with the first-string offense beside him. This is as close as it gets to seeing what the team would look like if Manning retired and Brock was given the starting job.

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This is also good because it gives Manning rest. He only has so many snaps, so many plays, before he starts to wear down. This is true for all players, but especially for older ones. Why waste some of those plays in the preseason? They might as well keep him out so that he is playing when it really matters.

On top of that, Seattle has a tough, hard-hitting defense. Yes, it’s preseason, but what if Manning got drilled and injured? Is that really worth it? There are enough chances to get hurt during the regular season. There’s no need to risk it now.

Some have complained that Manning should play because the offense is new and he needs the snaps. However, Manning has always been such a quick learner that it’s not likely to be much of a problem.

If anything, it’s Brock who needs the snaps. The Broncos want to use him more in 2015, to help rest Peyton Manning, and this is when it starts.

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