NFL Rumors: Broncos Denied Trying to Trade QB Peyton Manning to Houston

The Denver Broncos have spoken out about rumors that they tried to trade Peyton Manning to the Houston Texans this offseason, claiming that they never tried to ship away their veteran quarterback.

"The speculation is false, and [the] report is inaccurate," the team spokesman, Patrick Smyth, tweeted.

Here's one for the record - The speculation is false, and your report is inaccurate. https://t.co/Epge4WkOrX

— Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) June 24, 2015

The rumors first surfaced Tuesday night when Benjamin Allbright with 94.1 FM in Denver revealed that two sources told him the Broncos tried to trade Manning before both sides agreed to a restructured contract on March 4. Allbright was the first one to report that the Philadelphia Eagles were going to trade Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams. That trade happened on March 10th.

ProFootballTalk contacted the Texans in regards to these trade rumors. Instead of squashing them as well, the Texans simply replied that they had "no comment," which suggested that there could have been trade talks at some point.

The Houston Chronicle, however, later reported that three people with the team also denied rumors that the Texans were involved in trade talks for Manning.

Regardless of the Texans' response, the fact that Manning's restructured deal included a no-trade clause, which was not there from 2012 to 2014, suggests that Manning did not feel secure in Denver. In that deal, Manning also took a $4 million pay cut.

Manning has two years remaining on his five-year contract. In 2014, he passed for 4,727 yards with 39 touchdowns. His performance, however, started to decline later on in the season.