NFL Free Agents 2012: Why Von Miller's Peyton Manning Wish Is Tim Tebow Diss

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller took to Twitter Wednesday night and seemed to be pining for quarterback Peyton Manning and defensive lineman/linebacker Mario Williams. 

Miller's tweet can certainly be looked at as a slight to current starting quarterback Tim Tebow, who is apparently not wanted in Denver despite leading the team to the playoffs and a first-round upset over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow may not have a bright future ahead of him as a starting quarterback in the NFL, but Miller popping off about wanting someone else to play under center for his team is kind of harsh.

After winning the AP's NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and reaching the Pro Bowl this year, Miller certainly has to carry some weight around Denver's locker room. But when a guy who just wrapped up his first season starts talking out of turn about the team's roster, there are sure to be some veterans upset.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Miller is a bad kid or anything like that, I just think that tweet was a really bad idea. Publicly wishing for another quarterback, especially considering the public frenzy around your team's current starting signal caller was just a horrible move.

Miller is certainly well aware of the public debate going on as to whether Tebow will end up being a viable NFL starting quarterback. He has to realize that by writing that tweet he would just be adding to the firestorm. 

It reminds me of when former Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar told ESPN that he would rather have Alex Rodriguez than Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez on his team back in 2003. At the time, Rodriguez was supposed to be headed to Boston in exchange for Garciaparra, Ramirez and a few other pieces before the deal was rejected. 

That made Millar look awful and then he had to share a locker room with Garciaparra and Ramirez for the better part of a year.

Again, I don't think Miller is a bad kid and I don't think he was being malicious towards Tebow by taking to Twitter and seeming excited that his team might get Manning. But as a professional athlete he has to be smarter and know his words carry weight and will get national attention.