After the Denver Broncos lost former left tackle Ryan Clady to a torn ACL ahead of the 2015 season, then-quarterback Peyton Manning reached out to a future Hall of Famer in an attempt to secure a reliable replacement during the season.
Ahead of the 2015 NFL trade deadline, the Broncos had been working on a trade to acquire Joe Thomas from the Cleveland Browns
, but they weren't able to reach finalized terms.In an effort to get the deal done, Denver had Manning call Thomas directly.
"He's like, 'Well, hey, listen, we lost our left tackle, I really want you to come block for me,'" Thomas recalled on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast. "'But the Browns are worried; you're kind of their franchise, they love you over there,'" Manning said. "'We got
a fair deal on the table, but John [Elway]'s telling me it's not gonna get done unless you go up into your GM's office and tell them you want to be traded.'"
Thomas didn't want to force a trade.
"If a deal gets done on its own merit, great," Thomas said. "If not, like, I'm not willing to try to force a trade."
Peyton then jokingly suggested an outrageous way to force a trade without verbally asking for one:
Peyton Manning wanted Joe Thomas to take a 💩 on the GM’s desk so he would get traded 😂 pic.twitter.com/lhu7IlXe2E
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) September 15, 2026
In the end, no trade happened. The Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl that season with Ryan Harris and Michael Schofield as their two tackles. Cleveland went 3-13.
One and a half years later, Denver checked in on a potential Thomas trade again in 2017, but no deal was struck. The Broncos then used their first-round draft pick to select Garett Bolles, and Thomas retired the following offseason at 33.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Peyton Manning asked Joe Thomas to force a trade to Broncos in 2015
