New Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said Wednesday that he wants Peyton Manning to return as the team’s quarterback and is preparing the offense as if Manning will be leading it.

“No doubt I want him to be (the Broncos’ quarterback),” Kubiak said. “All indications are from everything he’s said and his conversations with (general manager) John (Elway) that he feels good. He had his self-assessment and feels good about moving forward.”

Last Thursday, Manning met with Elway and several Broncos officials, telling them that he is in good health and will be ready for the 2015 season.

Manning reportedly underwent his own medical exam administered by elite trainer Mackie Shilstone in New Orleans and was given good marks in workouts and tests. The quadriceps injury that bothered Manning during the latter stages of the 2014 season has healed.

—The Minnesota Vikings claimed tight end Brandon Bostick off waivers from the Green Bay Packers on Wednesday.

Bostick was the player at the center of the Packers’ lost onside kick in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He became a household name among NFL fans nationwide for his botched recovery of an onside kick late in regulation time of the NFC title game on Jan. 18. It helped to allow the Seahawks to rally from 12 points down in the final few minutes and win 28-22 in overtime.

The former Division II receiver spent three years with the Packers, who tried to develop him as a tight end. He caught nine passes for 123 and two touchdowns.

—Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine said he had all the right information on Johnny Manziel one year ago when the franchise was making its evaluation of the Texas A&M quarterback.

“Obviously we felt very comfortable with his background, comfortable enough to draft him,” Pettine said at the Scouting Combine inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday.

Pettine, who made a sideways jab at drafting only players “on the National Honor Society and school choir,” said the franchise will not make a kneejerk reaction to shy away from all players who have any kind of red flag during the 2015 draft process.

Pettine visited Manziel in rehab last week. He said Manziel, who entered a treatment facility in January, did not talk to Pettine before the decision was made. Pettine said he doesn’t have a firm idea of when Manziel will be back, but he came away from the visit feeling as if the 21-year-old is making personal progress.

—The Arizona Cardinals and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald agreed to a new two-year contract Wednesday.

Cardinals general manager Steve Keim announced the deal at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Fitzgerald’s new deal is expected to create nearly $13 million in salary cap space for Arizona in 2015, according to Pro Football Talk. The deal reportedly guarantees Fitzgerald $11 million per year over the next two seasons.

Fitzgerald, an eight-time Pro Bowler who was drafted third overall by the Cardinals in 2004, was due $16.25 million next season under his old contract, but he had a $23.6 million salary cap hit. The Cardinals had said that one of their top offseason priorities was restructuring Fitzgerald’s contract.

—Ryan Clark, who played safety in the NFL for 13 seasons, announced Wednesday that he’s retiring.

Clark, 35, made the announcement on ESPN’s “NFL Live,” saying he will retire as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Clark reportedly will step into a role with ESPN.

He spent eight seasons as a Steeler, rejoining the Washington Redskins last year when the Steelers opted to let him go in free agency. He began his career with the New York Giants as an undrafted player out of LSU in 2002. He signed with Washington in 2004 and played two seasons there before joining Pittsburgh in 2006 and starting 109 games for the Steelers. Clark finished his career with 929 tackles and 16 interceptions. He topped 100 tackles in each of his final four seasons.

—General manager Rick Spielman became the latest Minnesota Vikings executive to declare the team’s support for suspended running back Adrian Peterson.

On Wednesday, Spielman told media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, “We expect Adrian Peterson to be part of our football team.”

Spielman’s words echoed those of team president Mark Wilf and COO Kevin Warren, who previously indicated Peterson would be welcomed back.

Peterson remains suspended in the wake of a child-abuse case. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless injury after he used a switch to discipline his 4-year-old son in May 2014.

—Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden named Robert Griffin II the starting quarterback on Wednesday.

Gruden had said after the season that he expected an open competition for the position after the Redskins struggled to a 4-12 record in 2014.

Gruden benched Griffin after three consecutive subpar November starts, reversed course and named him the starter over fellow 2012 rookie Kirk Cousins. Colt McCoy, who replaced Griffin as the starter, is due to be a free agent next month.

—Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the imminent decisions on the future of wide receiver Dez Bryant and running back DeMarco Murray will be “organizational decisions.” But he wasn’t shy about sharing his ballot.

“These are big organizational decisions that really everybody is involved in. Certainly Dez and DeMarco are cornerstone players for our franchise,” Garrett said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Both of those guys know very strongly how much we care for them and how much we want them on our football team going forward. Each of those guys has a kind of different business opportunity. But, again,

the business of the NFL is real.”

Garrett said any decision to use the franchise tag on Bryant, assuring him a one-year deal worth the average salary of the top-five players at the position, should not be read into as more than a basic business decision. He repeated Jones’ comments Tuesday that it would not prevent the two sides from the ultimate goal of a long-term deal.

—Miami Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey is not far into a new layered approach to the offseason captained by executive vice president Mike Tannenbaum, but Miami is maintaining a close contact with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Hickey declined comment on any discussions with agent Pat Dye, who represents Tannehill, but confirmed he had dinner with disgruntled wide receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace is a potential cap casualty in Miami and ended the season frustrated by the tendency of the offense to stall, and the inability of the scheme to produce big plays.

Tannehill, the eighth overall pick in 2012, has never missed a start due to injury and the Dolphins are building a solid offensive line in front of him. He’s entering the final year of a four-year deal but the Dolphins could choose to exercise a fifth-year option for 2016 worth $15 million. With the salary cap bumping to over $140 million next season, there is conceivably more room to squeeze in a supporting cast around a $100 million quarterback.

—Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are on the radar of the New York Jets, who own the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft.

General manager Mike Maccagnan confirmed Wednesday the top two quarterbacks in the 2015 NFL Draft will have 15-minute private interviews with the Jets this week.

The Jets, under the direction of Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles for the first time, are not tipping their hand by any means, according to the former Houston Texans’ personnel boss. But with former second-round pick Geno Smith proving erratic through two seasons, there is no proven, established quarterback on the roster. Backup Michael Vick is an unrestricted free agent and not expected to be back.

—San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke declined to respond to Jim Harbaugh’s assertion last week that his departure from the franchise was not a mutual decision.

“I have no response to that,” Baalke said at the Scouting Combine. “Jim’s moved on. We’ve moved on. He’s got a heck of a job. We’ve got a new head football coach. We’re trying to get ready for the draft, free agency and the offseason program.”

Harbaugh and the 49ers parted ways after the end of last season, and it came after nearly a year of speculation about a rift between Harbaugh and the front office. Harbaugh has since taken over at Michigan and said on a podcast last week that he was told after a loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 14 that he would not be the team’s coach in 2015.

—The NFL expects this year’s salary cap to be between $140 million and $143 million, at least $1.5 million higher than projected, ESPN reported Wednesday.

League sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the NFL notified teams Wednesday.

The league had informed team executives at the owners meeting in December that the 2015 salary cap would be between $138.6 million and $141.8 million. The 2014 league salary cap was $133 million, which was a $10 million jump from 2013.

—A New England Patriots game-day worker tried to put an unapproved ball into play during the AFC Championship Game, according to an ESPN report Tuesday.

Per the report, Jim McNally, the officials’ locker room attendant at Gillette Stadium, attempted to give an unapproved ball to the alternate official overseeing the kicking balls, known as “K balls.”

The alternate official, Greg Yette, reportedly did not allow the ball into play, and he notified NFL vice president of game day operations Mike Kensil, who was in the press box. ESPN reported that NFL investigator Ted Wells, charged with getting to the bottom of the so-called “Deflategate” scandal, interviewed McNally.

—Sean Gilbert, who is trying to unseat DeMaurice Smith as the executive director of the NFL Players Association, said in an open letter that Smith may eventually cost the players $10 billion.

Gilbert, a former Pro Bowl defensive tackle, said Smith’s decision to agree to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement at the end of the 2011 lockout will cost the players a cumulative $10 billion by the time the CBA has expired. Gilbert said the players erred by hiring Smith, who is a lawyer and not a football player. Gilbert portrays Smith as being out-maneuvered by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, taking money out of the players’ pockets in the process.

Three years ago, it was smooth sailing for Smith when he unanimously won re-election with no competition for his job. At least four contenders for the position will attempt to convince the 32 player reps that they can do a better job leading the union.

—Running back Trent Richardson had a legitimate reason for his absence from the team’s walkthrough prior to the AFC Championship Game, complications with his girlfriend’s pregnancy, according to an Indianapolis Star report Tuesday.

Richardson received a two-game suspension from the Colts after missing the walkthrough and the team’s flight to New England for the game against the Patriots. Sources told the newspaper that Richardson’s girlfriend was having contractions and looked to be in premature labor after 28 weeks. Richardson reportedly took her to the hospital.

The team subsequently handed Richardson the two-game penalty, citing his failure to communicate with the team. Richardson later said it was a family emergency and his cell phone was not working.

—The Cleveland Browns signed defensive back Varmah Sonie on Wednesday.

The 5-foot-8, 180-pound Sonie is officially in his first NFL season out of Northern Iowa. He spent the final two weeks of the 2014 season on Tampa Bay’s practice squad. The Burnsville, Minn., native appeared in 17 games last year with the Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League and recorded nine interceptions.