The Denver Broncos are expecting Peyton Manning back in 2015 and he is hoping that the team can keep free agents like Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Wes Welker with Gary Kubiak taking over and if some of those players leaves, names like Jordan Cameron, Jeremy Maclin and CJ Spiller could be potential targets on the market.
The Broncos went one and done in the playoffs again and now the team is going through some major changes, as they have a new head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. John Elway decided to move on from John Fox after four years despite winning division in each of those seasons and now Gary Kubiak takes over. Adam Gase followed John Fox to the Chicago Bears, while Jack Del Rio is now in Oakland and that means Peyton Manning will have a new play-caller if he comes back in 2015.
The Denver Post reported that Manning will return next season and the next step for him is his annual physical. Once he passes that he can officially decide to come back and if that happens he will be getting paid $19 million. The Broncos have a number of significant free agents hitting the market this offseason, with Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Wes Welker, Orlando Franklin and Rahim Moore hitting the market. Demaryius Thomas is expected to return and if that happens, there is a good chance that Julius Thomas will sign elsewhere.
The Broncos have Emmanuel Sanders behind Thomas and he also had triple digit catches this season and that could allow Denver to let some players leave, including Welker or Julius Thomas. Jeremy Maclin could be a potential target if he leaves the Eagles, while Jordan Cameron is also a name to watch. Maclin should have a nice amount of suitors after the season he had, as he put up 85 catches for 1318 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season after coming off of an injury.
If the Broncos lose Thomas, look for the team to chase Jordan Cameron or Jermaine Gresham on the market, as they could lose Virgil Green as well. Manning likes to use his tight ends quite a bit and even if the team hangs onto Jacob Tamme, they will need some more depth at the position. The Browns are likely to let Cameron go this offseason and he could end up being a cheap option after dealing with injuries last year. The Broncos finished last season fourth in the league in passing yards per game and with Peyton Manning likely coming back they should be in line with that again.
The Broncos finished the season 12-4 and they have won three straight division titles with Manning at the helm. The team went 6-0 in the AFC West and 10-2 against the conference and now they hope to get back to the Super Bowl next season. The team improved on defense this year, but it still was not good enough to make it through to the championship round of the playoffs.
