The initial ESPN report that Peyton Manning has chosen the Denver Broncos as his next team -- pending contract negotiations -- brought an end to one NFL storyline but has just begun another. ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that the Broncos will now try to trade Tim Tebow.
When Manning first visited John Elway and the Denver franchise, ProFootballTalk reported that a Tebow trade could be imminent if the team were to reel in the biggest free agent out there. Per the report, the Jacksonville Jaguars are in the mix to acquire Tebow.
Before Super Bowl XLVI, Broncos linebacker Von Miller told The Huffington Post that although he supports Tebow, he understands that John Elway must explore all opportunities to improve the team, including investigating Manning's availability.
"As far as what Mr. Elways is doing, that is what you have to be doing to be successful in this league," he said. "You can't just put all your eggs in one basket. It's all up to Tim. In my opinion, I feel like he can get it done. But, looking at it from Mr. Elway's point of view, you always got to be defining your options. What's the next thing? And that's just how the league is today."
Tebow was named the starting quarterback in Denver after Kyle Orton led the team to a 1-4 start. With the former Heisman Trophy winner under center, the Broncos won seven of their next eight games and pulled off some unbelievable comebacks in the process.
Denver ended up backing into the postseason, but in typical Tebow-fashion, the Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryious Thomas that nearly destroyed Twitter.
Even though Jacksonville has been rumored to be interested in acquiring Tebow, there are plenty of teams in need of a quarterback. Miami, San Francisco, Tennessee and Arizona each tried to court Manning, but apparently came up unsuccessful. Cleveland tried to acquire the Rams' second overall draft pick to get Griffin, but Washington swooped in.
If Manning does in fact finalize a deal with the Broncos, should they trade Tebow? Would he be a good backup to Peyton? Or do you think Tebow wants to be a starter elsewhere?