The wheels are in motion for Peyton Manning to finalize a deal to the Denver Broncos, which means Tim Tebow is out as the star starting quarterback for the team. It seemed probable that Peyton Manning would sign with Tennessee, bringing him back to the state of his alma mater, but it was not to be. The Broncos were likely the most competitive team among Peyton’s options, though they weren’t competitive until Tebow took over at the helm and sparked a run that relied on tremendous defense and clutch offense. The ability to play for a playoff team with a quality coach like John Fox probably played a big role in his decision.
Regardless of why Manning chose Denver, what makes this worth writing about is the weird, personal nature in which Team President John Elway handled the situation. Typically you don’t hear a lot of commentary coming from the front office as we heard coming from Elway during the team’s six game win streak. Elway was so negative it almost seemed that he did not want to see Tebow lead the team victory. Tebow and Bronco fans let him know how they felt via Twitter. One fan called him out directly:
@johnelway you need acting lessons, that you can do a better job at pretending to be happy your team won.
The whole situation was strange, and I still don’t know exactly why Elway was so resentful towards Tebow. My theory is that Elway genuinely doesn’t believe Tim Tebow can be a Super Bowl caliber quarterback (which is a fair opinion), and when he became a national sensation it made it hard for Elway to make purely football decisions, and he resented that. Add on top of that a dislike for Tebow’s squeaky clean personality which made him sound ridiculous anytime he criticized him and there you have it. Peyton Manning’s free agency gave John Elway an excuse to rid himself of Tim Tebow while simultaneously acquiring an objectively superior quarterback.
From here, it appears that Tim Tebow will be traded or released and not start next year. However, the storybook ending to this saga would entail Tim Tebow going back to northern Florida and starting for the Jaguars. That’d be the best case scenario for Tebow (and I think Jacksonville too), but they seem committed to Blaine Gabbert–the Mizzou product who had a marginally better completion percentage than Tebow in 2011. Bleacher Report makes the case for Jacksonville making a move for Tebow. Do you think the Jaguars should abide?
The Broncos will likely make some adjustments to their personnel to accommodate a different offense. They’re reportedly looking into acquiring Manning’s old go-to tight end, Dallas Clark. In my estimation, they’re not talented enough to be excellent, but decent enough to be AFC West favorites (if that means anything). The Broncos will pay Peyton big bucks to have a shot at the Super Bowl in the next two years, and will likely win their fair share of football games, but may find themselves between young and upcoming and veteran and elite. If Peyton remains healthy and can recapture his past glory they’ll have a chance, otherwise they may have invested a lot of money in an aging veteran and moved a young quarterback with off the charts charisma over the team presidents personal issues.
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