At one time, the idea of Peyton Manning playing for any team other than the Indianapolis Colts seemed not just farfetched, but somehow wrong, like if it every actually happened the planets would suddenly fall out of alignment or animals would suddenly rear up on their hind legs and start speaking Spanish.

Then, it happened, and nothing really changed outside of the on-field fortunes of the Colts and Denver Broncos.

Now that Manning has been a member of the Broncos for three seasons, the notion of the future Hall of Famer ever playing for any other NFL franchise again seems ludicrous, except it may have been closer to becoming reality this offseason than most realize.

HNGN passed along a report in May from Matt "Money" Smith, who was appearing on the Move The Sticks podcast with Daniel Jeremiah, that alleged that an offseason conversation had gone on between the Broncos brass, led by John Elway and new head coach Gary Kubiak, and the Houston Texans involving a potential trade for Manning.

As part of that report, it was insinuated that Elway and Kubiak were very, very high on young backup Brock Osweiler and that some inside the Broncos building were ready to make the transition to the former second-round pick.

Now, that report again has legs, as Benjamin Allbright of 94.1 FM in Denver recently reported a very similar sentiment.

Again, this very closely mirrors what Smith reported a month ago and adds further fuel to the speculation that Manning may not have been the top choice to start the season for at least several members of the Broncos franchise. Of course, the Broncos have since come out and vehemently denied the report, potentially making the whole thing moot.

For the Texans, a deal like this would make ample sense. Neither Brian Hoyer nor Ryan Mallett looks like a surefire, top-notch, playoff-caliber starter for 2015 and with Bill O'Brien's team strong and deep in nearly every other area of the roster, a legitimate signal-caller may be the only thing between them and serious Super Bowl contention.

For the Broncos, it had to be an enticing thought to shed the mammoth salary of a 39-year-old signal-caller whose body seems to have become increasingly brittle in recent years, at the same time as it seems to signal that Osweiler, who has been something of an afterthought to this point in his career, may actually be ready to deliver on the promise that made him a high draft pick and really is the future of the Denver franchise.

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