Peyton Manning stood with Colts owner Jim Irsay at a very emotional press conference on March 7th to mark the end of his 14-year career as an Indianapolis Colt. Fast-forward 13 days later, and Manning is a Denver Bronco.
The future Hall of Famer has thrown for 54,828 yards and 399 touchdowns, which ranks third all-time in each category. He is the only player in NFL history to win four Most Valuable Player awards.
As dominant as Manning has been for over a decade, injuries have started to take a toll on the gunslinger. He has had three neck surgeries in four years and was forced to miss all of last season with the same ailment.
After a dismal 2-14 season, the Colts were rewarded with the first overall pick in this year's draft, which will undoubtedly go to Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. According to the so-called experts, he's a can't-miss prospect, which made Manning expendable.
After hopping private jets to San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, and Miami (not to mention having his car followed by news choppers from each city), Manning has ultimately decided on the Broncos and agreed to a five year, $96 million deal.
Manning turns 36 in four days and hasn't played in a football game since January of 2011. His neck has been poked at like a pinata over the last year or so and he still isn't 100 percent. Despite how great Manning was for so long, there's no guarantee he ever returns to that form.
Denver has gone obviously gone "all-in" with this move, which reportedly signals the end of Tim Tebow in a Bronco uniform. Tebow, who was named the 2012 starter by Elway just a couple months ago, has been placed on the trading block.
As dicey as signing Manning is for Denver, getting rid of Tebow might be even dicier.
Despite Tebow's terrible completion percentage last year (47%), he wins games. Say what you want about his stats or mechanics, but he won more playoff games than Aaron Rodgers did last year. Tebow has his limitations, but he's still only 24 years old. When Rodgers was 24, he was carrying a clipboard and roaming the sidelines every Sunday.
Tebow is still raw, but he can certainly improve. What better way to develop a QB than to have him learn from Peyton Manning for a few years? It certainly worked for Rodgers and the Packers.
Manning is signed for five years, but lets be honest. At 36, he's not playing that long. The Broncos will be sitting here in two or three years without a plan at QB, the most important position on the field. If they trade Tebow, Manning will be the only signal caller on the roster, which presents two potentially huge problems.
Considering Manning's age and injuries, he needs a backup in case he suffers another setback. Tim Tebow, who got Denver into the second round of the playoffs last year, would be the perfect solution. He brought the Broncos back from the dead and took America on one wild ride every single week and into the postseason. If Peyton goes down, Tebow is more than capable of holding down the fort.
When Manning eventually retires or gets cut by Denver, that will likely leave them with no quarterback of the future. Many will suggest they can draft and develop someone else, but that is much easier said than done. The Browns have been trying to pull that off for decades. If Tebow was given a few years to lean under Manning, there's no telling how much better of a player he could become.
This whole ordeal could easily blow up in Denver's face. Manning could end up being a bust in the Mile High City and they'd be paying him nearly $20 million per season, more than any other player in the league. Tebow could be traded elsewhere and continue his winning ways.
The Manning and Tebow saga could go a number of different directions. For Elway and the rest of the Broncos front office, it better go in a positive one.
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