Brock Osweiler and John Elway might not be sending Christmas cards back and forth this year, or any year in the future for that matter.
The former Denver Broncos quarterback hasn’t been on great terms with the team or Elway since being benched in favor of Peyton Manning in Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers. Osweiler wasn’t playing poorly in that game, but the offense was stagnant anyway, leading to the move to bench him.
Osweiler, now with the Houston Texans, has made no bones about being angry that he was yanked. And it was not only for that game but for the rest of the campaign, which resulted in a Broncos win in Super Bowl 50.
Speaking about this, Elway made a comment that didn’t sit well with Osweiler.
“I can understand that he didn’t want to sit down and have Peyton come back in that San Diego game, but it wasn’t the fact that Brock was playing bad,” Elway said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. “We needed a change of something. So I was a little surprised just how he seemed to be a little bent out of shape about that.”
Responding to that comment, Osweiler remarked, “what kind of competitor wouldn’t want to play in that situation?” per Mike Meltser of SportsRadio 610 in Houston.
Regardless of your allegiance — whether you’re pro-Denver or pro-Houston or a fan of any other team — this is the kind of response you’d hope a young quarterback would give to Elway’s comment.
Of course Osweiler was “bent out of shape” after being unceremoniously dumped for the final, critical games of last year’s Super Bowl run. He wouldn’t be worth his salt as a starting quarterback if he didn’t feel that way.
One thing is certain as it relates to this entire dynamic: Fireworks will fly when Osweiler and the Texans visit the Mile High city on October 24 to take on the Broncos.