The Latest on Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, the Broncos, and the Cardinals

According to multiple reports, including one from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and NFL legend has narrowed down his free agent search to two teams: The Arizona Cardinals (whom he visited on Sunday), and the Denver Broncos (whom he visited on Saturday). Manning is reportedly headed back to Miami (where he has a home), but he has no visit scheduled with the Dolphins or any other team at this time.

Mike Klis of the Denver Post reported that Manning’s representatives were contacted by the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs who were interested in bringing him in for a visit, but Manning apparently has declined.

There are some who are saying that Manning may be being pursued by ‘mystery’ teams, but I don’t think any team that actually wants Manning would make it a mystery at this point. Heck, even the Tennessee Titans–who drafted a quarterback in the top 10 a year ago and have Matt Hasselbeck–made their interest in Manning known.

According to Vic Lombardi, a Denver based radio host and reporter, his sources have said that Manning is “80-20” on the Broncos and Cardinals respectively, and Lombardi states that his source has not been wrong throughout the entire process.

At this point, the general consensus is that Manning has not made a decision. He did not bring his agent to any of the meetings, which were strictly football related. Manning reportedly wanted to get to know the people he is playing for, the facilities he’d be at every day, and all of that kind of stuff.

There are a ton of people who think that Manning signing with Denver is a near certainty, but Arizona based reporters are saying that Manning’s visit with the team was fantastic, and they feel like they have a real shot to get him.

When it comes down to it, the Broncos–unlike Arizona or Miami–have the financial assets not only to sign Manning ASAP, they can build pieces around him right away in free agency without having to cut any meat off of their payroll. Denver has nearly $45 million in cap space after franchise tagging kicker Matt Prater, and their biggest free agents to re-sign in-house are Brodrick Bunkley, Wesley Woodyard, and Eddie Royal.

Denver seems like the most logical fit for Manning, especially if he is only considering them and the Cardinals. Arizona has Larry Fitzgerald, who is undoubtedly better than any receiver Denver has to offer, but they also have what I believe to be the worst offensive line in the league, and nowhere near enough cap space to put together something that I think Peyton Manning would be impressed with.

What would a Manning signing in Denver mean for Tim Tebow? According to the guys that I trust the most, like Brandon Spano, Vic Lombardi, and Cecil Lammey, if Manning is signed by Denver, Tebow will be gone to the highest bidder. There are conflicting reports about whether or not the Jacksonville Jaguars would be interested if Tebow hits the market, but we know for a fact that their new owner is enamored with Tebow and can’t believe the franchise didn’t draft him two years ago.

There are very mixed feelings among Denver fans about getting rid of Tebow. First of all, Tebow rejuvenated the franchise and gave these fans hope. If Tebow hadn’t helped the Broncos (regardless of what you think, his presences was critical) to the playoffs and a victory over Pittsburgh in the wild card round, I seriously doubt we’d be talking about Denver as a realistic destination for Manning and more a realistic destination for RG3 or Andrew Luck.

Second, Tebow is believed to be the future of the franchise by many people, and the idea of trading him for a potentially very short-term fix in Peyton Manning is not appealing.

A lot of Broncos fans also believe that signing Manning is the right thing for the franchise to do. Many believe that John Elway is STILL not sold on Tim Tebow as a legitimate NFL prospect even after the strides he made in 2011. Tebow’s accuracy was not great and he wasn’t good from the pocket, but he made the throws/plays necessary to help the Broncos win, and Denver said he’d be the starter at least going into camp. That could all go to being dust in the wind if Denver is able to sign #18, who actually would have to change his number to sign in Denver, as #18 is retired for former quarterback Frank Tripucka.

The potential fallout of a Manning signing in Denver is huge, but it’s potentially equally so in Arizona. The Cardinals would have to cut bait with quarterback Kevin Kolb just one year after they invested over $60 million dollars in his services. Kolb was injury prone and inconsistent in his first year with the club, but I find it very odd that the franchise is moving on so quickly. This is a player that, unlike Denver’s situation, was hand-selected by the current regime in Arizona.

I also believe the Broncos are closer to a Super Bowl than Arizona is, but that’s not a surprising statement considering Denver won a playoff game last year and Arizona watched it happen from their comfy couches. Certainly Manning would be an interesting fit with a guy like Larry Fitzgerald, but what about the rest of the team? Arizona has an up-and-coming defense that is still missing a few pieces in the secondary. They seem a few veterans short on that side of the ball. Offensively, the weapons they have now are nowhere near as good as the ones Kurt Warner have, though I do think they’d be able to draw in Reggie Wayne (same is true for Denver).

I think the Broncos also would potentially have an interest in former Colts tight end Dallas Clark, who was recently released by the team. Denver is potentially losing two veteran tight ends to free agency (Dante Rosario, Daniel Fells) and obviously Manning would be comfortable with Clark. They have great chemistry, specifically in the red zone and on third down.

As of right now, my gut tells me that Manning is going to pick Denver, after my initial thought (pre-release) was that Manning would for sure be signing with Miami. That could still happen, but as Adam Schefter just recently reported on ESPN.com, there is no plan right now for Manning to meet with Miami, though he could potentially talk with Dolphins coach Joe Philbin.

This is certainly an interesting situation to monitor, so keep an eye out because Manning is expected to decide soon.