Peyton Manning Goes Green during Offseason Practice

In an apparent effort to curtail the ball security issues that plagued them last season, the Denver Broncos are incorporating unique measures to prevent future fumbling.

Quarterback Peyton Manning was spotted at a recent OTA cradling a green football, something that apparently piqued the interest of many observers at the Broncos' practice facility, as well as reporters who proceeded to grill the five-time NFL MVP as to the origin of this mysterious object.

It would appear that even in late May, the public has a thirst for NFL information that must be quenched, regardless of how trivial and insignificant.

Manning addressed the media after practice concluded and responded to an opening salvo about the green football with an abrupt “That’s Denver Broncos offensive business” to the curious scribe, according to Lindsay Jones of USA Today.

Pressed again on the subject, Manning fired off this gem:

Like I said, that’s official Denver Broncos offensive business, right? It’s kind of an A and B conversation and you can C your way out of it.

Ah, that precocious Manning wit. Setting aside the obvious grammatical error -- as instead of like, dude -- it wasn't a bad attempt at punditry.

Of course, Peyton was being silly and coy, but those nosy reporters correctly deduced the meaning behind the Lycra-covered football and its direct relation to the Broncos' maddening tendency of putting the ball on the ground.

While 2013 was a wildly successful season that ended one win short of a Super Bowl title for Denver, their fumbling issues were perplexing. The Broncos dropped the ball a disturbing 27 times last year, losing a league-high 16 of them. Manning contributed six lost fumbles to the cause, in addition to this memorable Super Bowl mishap.

Peyton was not alone in his environmentally sound efforts, as wide receiver Demaryius Thomas also spent the better part of the 90-minute practice session toting the green football. Thomas is no stranger to this treatment, as he also went green in 2012 after a series of fumbles.

It remains to be seem if the Broncos’ ball security will improve in 2014, but the green initiative is sure to continue, possibly requiring Manning to plant a tree at midfield during the Denver home opener.