Elway: Manning was likely only acceptable replacement for Tebow
The Denver Broncos winning the Peyton Manning sweepstakes back in 2012 immediately brought an end to Tim Tebow's short run under center.
Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to land a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback as a free agent can certainly be chalked up as a no-brainer for Denver's management team.
But had Manning not hit the open market after a long run with the Indianapolis Colts, general manager John Elway believes moving on from Tebowmania would have been much harder to sell to fans.
"Because Tebow had such a fan base behind him - there was probably only one guy that we could have replaced him with that people would understand," Elway told Nicki Jhabvala of the Dever Post. "And that was Peyton Manning."
Despite helping the Broncos end a five-year playoff drought and coming away with an impressive upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening round of the postseason, Elway and Co. likely never considered Tebow as a long-term solution.
The former college superstar completed just 46.5 percent of his passes for 1,729 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions across 14 appearances and 11 starts in 2011.
In the end, it couldn't have worked out more favorably for the Broncos. Manning led the Broncos to playoff runs following each of his four seasons in Denver, including a Super Bowl 50 title that allowed him to walk off into the sunset earlier this year.
Tebow would go on to spend the 2012 season with the New York Jets before being unable to crack 53-man rosters with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles in the years that followed.
He's since made a successful transition to the broadcast booth, and interest in his services appears to have bottomed out. Given the apparent willingness to continue his pursuit of an NFL career, though, as well as the still-overpowering fan appeal, it would be no surprise to see him linked to quarterback openings for years to come.
- With h/t to NFL.com