ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — John Elway made it clear that he wants Peyton Manning back in a Broncos uniform.

“The bottom line is, we want him back, and it’s going to come down to what he wants to do,” Elway said after a rough eight-game stretch to end the season, in which Manning threw just 11 touchdown passes against eight interceptions after posting a 29-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the first nine games.

Manning’s struggles began four weeks before he tore a quadriceps at San Diego in Week 15.

“Obviously, 10 games into the year we had a little shift as far as what we did on offense, trying to create more balance. So therefore it was something new for him, because he hadn’t had that balance before,” Elway said. “It was a bit of an adjustment for him and I think he did a heck of a job adjusting.”

Manning must decide on his status before the start of the league year. If he is on the roster March 10, his 2015 salary will be guaranteed. If he is not, the Broncos will have $5 million in dead money against their salary cap.

Elway said he would give Manning time to rest and reflect, and focus on a decision in about a month. However, he said he would be in touch with him during the process of finding a new head coach.

“I think that it’s too early for us to talk about Peyton, whether Peyton’s going to come back or not,” Elway said. “Especially for Peyton to talk about it. Until Peyton figures that out, there’s no sense in us really talking about it.

“There is no question the (head-coach) candidates are going to want to know where Peyton is. At that point in time, I’m going to say the same thing I’m telling you all right now. We don’t know exactly what he’s going to do. We’ll just to have to wait and see and go from there.”