What is clear at the end of the 2015 NFL season is that Brock Osweiler was not going to return to the Denver Broncos in 2016.

What is not clear is whether it was Osweiler's idea to punish the Broncos --- or his agent's.

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Jimmy Sexton never gave the Broncos a chance to match the Houston Texans' offer of a four-year, $72 million with $37 million guaranteed, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Broncos' final offer was not that far below the Texans'. They were willing to give Osweiler $16.5 million per year over three years with $30 million guaranteed.

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Osweiler's benching in the regular-season finale played a factor in his decision to be done with Denver, according to Larry Brown Sports.

"As a previous report noted, Osweiler did not take kindly to being benched in favor of Peyton Manning after he went 5-2 filling in for the future Hall of Famer," Larry Brown Sports reported. "From the sound of it, he intended to sign with Houston all along and his agent was simply using the Broncos as leverage."

That sentiment, however, seems to contradict the Chronicle's coverage of the final days of Osweiler's free agency.

"Sexton had told Osweiler to go dark and not return calls, texts or e-mails from the Broncos, including his teammates, until the agent had reached an agreement with one of the teams. Sexton didn't want sentiment to play a role if he could avoid it.

"Sexton never gave the Broncos a chance to match the Texans' offer."

If Osweiler never intended to return to the Broncos, why would sentimentality get in the way of him moving on to Houston.

In other words, if sentiment could've swayed Osweiler, then he couldn't have been too mad at the Broncos. Was Sexton mad at the Broncos? Did he think Osweiler might sign for less to stay with Denver?

It's a bit of a puzzling scenario that remains unanswered.

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