The truth about Brock Osweiler and the reason he left the Broncos

Brock Osweiler did not want to be a Denver Bronco. Even if they matched the Houston Texans’ free-agent offer.

BSN Denver was the first to break the original $39 million contract offer that the Broncos proposed to the young quarterback last week and soon found out that it wouldn’t be near enough. The Texans would offer Osweiler a 4-year, $64 million deal when the negotiating period started on Monday.

As much as Denver media wanted to pretend that a deal was near, Osweiler was never close to signing with Denver.

A Denver Broncos source involved in Osweiler negotiations told BSN Denver on Wednesday, “It was very clear that he did not want to be here.”

Osweiler was furious after getting benched in Week 17, and even though he handled himself professionally in front of the press, one teammate noticed a difference. “Brock took it in stride but you could tell it was (messing) with him. Even after the Super Bowl, you could tell he wasn’t real happy,” the player told BSN Denver.

“I mean, he got benched after C.J. (Anderson)’s fumble. I think there were some guys wondering what was going on, but at the end of the day Peyton came in so you really can’t question that.”

In other words, you don’t ask questions when a legend takes over the huddle. And interestingly enough, the inefficient, unfocused team that we had seen throughout the first half of that game turned into the methodical, focused, big-play team that we expected to start the contest.

They went on to beat San Diego 27-20, and many started questioning whether or not Brock Osweiler had the “it” factor talked about so commonly among NFL decision-makers.

The buzz around the facility that week was that Brock never secured that job. He never made the coaches believe he could be the leader of that team. He had a chance to lead, and he didn’t. He had a chance to make his teammates accountable, and he didn’t.

A source told BSN Denver that Osweiler’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, was upset about the quarterback getting benched and said Sexton later told Osweiler’s wife, “don’t worry, we’re gonna get him out of here,” shortly after the game.

Sexton delivered to the tune of four years and $72 million, with a trip to Houston, a few months later.

Texans owner Bob McNair told the Houston media: “Rick (Smith) said he was going to get him, and he did. I’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He did a heck of a job.”

But in hindsight, it didn’t take a heck of a job to get Osweiler because the quarterback had one foot out the door in Denver the entire time.

“We’ve stayed true to our philosophy of building a team with players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here. That’s been a successful approach for us,” Elway told Andrew Mason at the Broncos’ official team site.

“While we did offer a very competitive and fair long-term contract to Brock, we ultimately had to remain disciplined while continuing to assemble a roster that can compete for championships,” Elway added.

Lets face it, the Denver Broncos run an elite organization, where the quarterback will always be compared to John Elway and now Peyton Manning, and anything less than a Lombardi Trophy is reason to castigate. Osweiler had enough of the gigantic shadow, was finished with what he thought was unfair expectations and realized that these shoes ain’t for everybody.