The words seemed harsher on paper than they were in reality.
Broncos general manager John Elway, in a recent conversation with me, spoke candidly when I asked him if he was surprised by Brock Osweiler’s defection to Houston.
He admitted he was. A bit. He didn’t know for sure, but from what he had heard, Osweiler was upset at being benched in the Broncos’ regular-season finale against San Diego and in the playoffs, a natural reaction from any player. You work to win and to start and when it’s taken away, well, who wouldn’t be upset?
Elway’s opinion of the end — that Osweiler was “bent out of shape” by the benching — was not a dig or a fired shot.