The money mattered. The opportunity mattered. The commitment mattered. But the Denver Broncos shouldn't be masking reality. Two other things mattered to now-departed quarterback Brock Osweiler as well: a late-season benching and the team putting an offer on hold while it waited for Peyton Manning to make a decision about his future.

In the hindsight of the past two weeks, those developments, along with high-level quarterback money, are the lessons that reveal why Osweiler is now a Houston Texan while the Broncos are scrambling for options behind center. It's a harsh thorn in Denver's future plans, scuttling a four-year design that was ultimately put in place when the team drafted Osweiler in the second round of the 2012 draft.

View photos Brock Osweiler apparently didn't get over his benching in Denver. (AP) More

It was almost perfect. Osweiler was earmarked to be the heir apparent, patiently groomed for this very scenario. But free agency is a cruel agent of change in the NFL, and the best-laid plans are often shredded by a single signature on an unexpectedly robust new contract. That's what leads to Wednesday night, with the Texans celebrating new possibilities while Broncos general manager John Elway was left to release a statement seeded with a not-so-subtle parting shot.

"We've stayed true to our philosophy of building a team with players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here," Elway said. "That's been a successful approach for us. … We've now turned our attention to other options at quarterback and are confident that we'll find the right player and person for our team."

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Some of that verbiage may have been burned into place by an Elway glare: "… with players who want to be Denver Broncos … we'll find the right player and person for our team."

Those are tough words. But Elway is jilted. Really, the entire organization is bruised a bit by this. But there might be some truth in there. Late last week, other NFL executives in the quarterback market had already shaped up Houston as a major suitor for Osweiler. And the reasoning wasn't just money. There was a belief coming from somewhere inside Osweiler's circle that he was still upset at coach Gary Kubiak for the late-season benching. But it didn't end there, either.

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The reality is Denver walked a line with Osweiler for a while. And that's the picture that has shaped up in the last 24 hours, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports.

To get an idea how this went down, start with the failure to reach an extension prior to the 2015 season. At that time, there were signs Manning's play was headed for a stiff decline. And there clearly was a gambling element to wait on a new Osweiler deal. But at the same time, Osweiler's agent, Jimmy Sexton, had little incentive to get an extension done. He was staring at a free-agent quarterback market that was shaping up to be dead the following offseason. Locking up his client before he had generated traction didn't make sense. Even if Osweiler failed to play in 2015, there was a chance it would be Manning's last season in Denver, translating into instant leverage.

View photos John Elway is in search for a quarterback to lead the defending champion Broncos. (Getty Images) More

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