- November 23, 2024
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When the Denver Broncos signed future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning to a five-year deal earlier this week, I knew Tim Tebow was going to be put on the trading block.
What I didn’t know was how much of a circus Wednesday was going to be.
In the afternoon, news broke that he was traded to the New York Jets for a fourth-round pick. Then, the deal wasn’t complete because the Jets didn’t want to pay approximately $5 million owed to Tebow. Denver didn’t want to pay it, either. And so the deal fell through ... sort of.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were back in the mix. Hours later, around 8:30 p.m., ESPN reported that the decision came down to Tebow — the Broncos were willing to trade him to the Jets or Jaguars. His choice.
In the end, Tebow chose the Jets. Or did he?
After the deal was finalized, Tebow was quoted saying that Denver had all the power and that he really had no choice.
While I’ve typed, deleted, re-typed, re-deleted and finally wrote this column late Wednesday night, I realized that the hype comes down to one thing: Tebow wins. He proved it last season and he’ll prove it again. The timing for him to come to Jacksonville just wasn’t right. The Jaguars are trying to develop a young QB in Blaine Gabbert. Sure, trading for Tebow had tons of upside. But to me, it would’ve made more sense a year ago. Or even a few weeks ago before they signed Chad Henne, who is another QB.
The fact of the matter is while Tebow was adored by the Broncos fan base, he never grew on John Elway. But now, Tebow is free.
On a day when the NFL levied some of the harshest penalties in league history on the New Orleans Saints, Tebow Mania headlined the day.
Like I’ve said before, he doesn’t ask for this media coverage. It just happens. And that’s why people don’t like him.
While his upcoming opportunity in New York is an unknown, one thing is for certain: The man is a winner. He did it in T-ball, high school, at the University of Florida, in Denver, and he’ll do it in New York.
And he’ll do it in whatever city he plays, too.
Email Andrew O’Brien at [email protected]. Follow @PCOSports on Twitter.
