Peyton Manning to Sign With Broncos, Tebow to Get Traded
Tebow Time? That was so last year. Manning Mania is coming to the Mile High City.
According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, quarterback Peyton Manning will sign with the Denver Broncos. This leaves the other two teams in the Manning race–the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans–re-evaluating their quarterback situations and moving on in free agency.
John Elway–the Broncos vice president of football operations–was instrumental in bringing Manning to Denver, with the two sides reportedly staying in contact throughout this process that began when Manning was released by the Indianapolis Colts less than two weeks ago. Elway–a Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion–won those championships at the end of his career and not one hundred percent healthy, which could’ve attracted Manning even more to come to Denver.
Mortensen and Schefter report that an initial contract discussion was a five-year, $95 million deal, but could potentially be changed. The contract will contain clauses to protect the Broncos in case Manning cannot play due to his past neck surgeries (though he did pass a physical by team doctors). Elway has previously said that the contract will be “fair to both sides.” Once the deal is officially complete, a press conference will be held to announce the move.
As for Tim Tebow, his time as the Broncos starting quarterback is over. He will reportedly be traded, after just one season as a starter where he led the Broncos to the AFC West title and a playoff victory, all after the team started off 1-4 with Tebow on the bench. ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio is reporting that the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins appear to be the early front-runners for Tebow.
Manning–the NFL’s only four-time MVP–missed the entire 2011 season due to injury that required multiple neck surgeries. He had never missed a game in his previous 13 seasons with the Colts. But now, Manning will try to do for the Broncos what Elway did for them at the end of his career: win multiple championships before retiring.
