Tim Tebow Trade Tracker: Latest Rumors on Tebow to Jaguars, Dolphins and More

Now that the Denver Broncos have landed the offseason's biggest free agent in Peyton Manning, former starting quarterback Tim Tebow is available for trade, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Apparently, an 11-time Pro Bowler supersedes Tebow Mania.

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More filed to ESPN: And now that Peyton Manning has directed his agent to get deal done with Denver, Broncos will try to trade Tim Tebow.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 19, 2012"

Update: Thursday, March 22 at 8:45 a.m. ET

Adam Schefter breaks down the offers made by both the Jets and Jaguars yesterday, and it turns out Jacksonville's was slightly more valuable.

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Jacksonville offered to pay back Denver $3 million - vs. Jets $2.5 - for Tim Tebow. Plus, Jacksonville's 4th-rd pick was more valuable.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 22, 2012"

An interesting report to say the least. It's important to remember the Jets completed an original deal before it hit a snag, so it's probably a case of the Broncos not wanting to change course since they were so close with New York.

Both teams have issues at quarterback, so the circumstances wouldn't have changed much for Tebow either way. Returning to Florida would have probably been easier on him than New York City, but the mania would have continued regardless.

Update: Wednesday, March 21 at 1 p.m. ET

You can now call off the madness of Tim Tebow watch 2012, because the Mile High Messiah is about to become the Manhattan Messiah, or something like that. 

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports via Twitter that Tim Tebow has been traded to the NY Jets for a fourth-round pick.

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Breaking news: Ny Jets have just traded a 4th round pick for Tim Tebow

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) March 21, 2012"

Update: Wednesday, March 21 at 12:45 p.m. ET

And the number of teams that are considering Tebow has grown by one. The St. Louis Rams are considering Tebow to, I presume, wait in the bullpen in case Sam Bradford gets hurt. 

Report comes from Michael Lombardi via Twitter.

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Add the St Louis Rams as a team strongly interested in trading for Tim Tebow

— Michael Lombardi (@michaelombardi) March 21, 2012"

Update: Wednesday, March 21 at 9 a.m. ET

The Jaguars still haven't had direct contact with Tebow's representatives, according to Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union. It's a sign trade talks aren't moving along quite as well everybody involved would probably hope.

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WKMG reporter David Pingalore said a deal for the Jaguars to acquire Tebow through a trade was in the works between Khan and Tebow's representatives late Tuesday night, and a deal could happen as soon as midday today. Sources strongly denied that.

Tebow's representatives have not had trade discussions with any teams other than the Broncos, though they might eventually ask permission to do that. A potential trade might not be moving as quickly as people think.

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Tebow is under contract through 2014, so direct contact between Jacksonville's owner and Tebow's reps isn't a necessity before a potential trade. That said, you would think there would be some type of discussions if a deal was close to happening.

Denver would like to unload Tebow right away, but still want to get some type of value. The franchise spent a first-round pick on him and he did lead the Broncos to the playoffs even though the stats weren't pretty, so it will be interesting to see how long they'll hold out for a good deal.

Update: Wednesday, March 21 at 7:40 a.m. ET

David Pingalore of WKMG Sports in Orlando is reporting the Tebow sweepstakes has been reduced to two teams and could be resolved sometime today:

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Tim Tebow, whose stardom rose to national levels this past season as he led the Denver Broncos to nine wins and a playoff defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is expected to be traded to either the Jacksonville Jaguars or the New York Jets by midday on Wednesday, a source close to Tebow told WKMG Sports Director David Pingalore.

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The Jaguars and Jets have both been mentioned as potential landing spots throughout the process, but it appears they have emerged as the favorites.

Jacksonville would probably benefit more from having Tebow because of the Florida connection. He would lead to an instant boost in tickets sales and marketability of the franchise. That said, Blaine Gabbert will start feeling the heat immediately.

Jeremy Lin illustrated how big of a star New York can make somebody overnight. Tebow is already a star, so New York would take him to another level. Once again, though, the Jets already have a quarterback under pressure, and Tebow would only add to it.

The Broncos will be happy to trade him and move on to their new direction. So a quick resolution wouldn't be a surprise.

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 10:15 p.m. ET

According to Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network (via NFL.com), the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars are among several teams that have "serious interest" in trading for Tebow.

NFL Network's Albert Breer found out that the Broncos started exploring Tebow deals as soon as the team found out it would be signing Peyton Manning. Lombardi says the Broncos are "expected to be agreeable toward what teams are willing to give" in a trade for Tebow.

That's a polite way of saying that the Broncos will take what they can get for Tebow.

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 6:45 p.m. ET 

Welcome the New York Jets into the Tim Tebow sweepstakes. Jets beat writer for the New York Daily News, Manish Mehta, reports via Twitter the Jets have joined the race.

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I've been told that the Jets have legitimate interest in acquiring Tim Tebow. #nfl

— Manish Mehta(@TheJetsStream) March 20, 2012"

Mehta continues.

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Here we go. Jets source on TebowMania heading east: "We are players in the Tim Tebow race." Story here: nydn.us/GCoeHU #nfl

— Manish Mehta(@TheJetsStream) March 20, 2012"

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 4:17 p.m. ET by Michael Dixon

According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets are not a viable option. 

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Source tells me it's "not likely" that Tim Tebow's next destination will be the Jets. Story: nydn.us/GDV7Ex #nfl

— Manish Mehta(@TheJetsStream) March 20, 2012"

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 4:01 p.m. ET by Michael Dixon

Time will tell where Tebow goes, but he will not be going to San Francisco at least according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.

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Step down fron the ledge, 49ers fans. Quote from Jed York: "Tebow's not coming here."

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) March 20, 2012"

Nobody with the 49ers has as much say as York so if he's saying that, it's case closed. 

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 2:35 p.m. ET

For those of you who quickly marked the Dolphins onto your Tebow watch list, go ahead and cross them off. Shortly after Schefter reported Miami could make a move for him, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweeted the team isn't interested.

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The Dolphins at this time have zero intention of pursuing Tim Tebow.

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) March 20, 2012"

Tebow would seem to have some appeal to the Dolphins based on his Florida roots alone. That said, I would suspect the team doesn't want to feel the pressure of having to play him if their other options don't work out.

Unless Tebow lands with a team like Green Bay, where the starter is locked into his job, the quarterback ahead of him will be feeling the heat. It's something every team needs to consider before making a deal for the polarizing QB.

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 2:25 p.m. ET

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Dolphins have joined the Tebow sweepstakes. Perhaps more importantly, he's confident a trade will eventually be made, so it's just a matter of finding the right team.

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Scratch SF from teams that could trade for Tim Tebow, add Miami. Candidates currently include JAX, GB, MIA, maybe more. A trade will happen.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 20, 2012"

The Broncos have to be ecstatic that teams are basically lining up to make an offer for Tebow. Based purely on his passing numbers, it wouldn't have been overly surprising if teams decided to pass on him. But it appears that won't be the case.

Now, moving him quickly should become the team's top priority. Once the trade distractions are removed, everybody can start preparing for next season.

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 12:40 p.m. ET

CBS Sports' Mike Freeman reports there is an increasing interest around the league for Tim Tebow. He writes the following. 

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I'm told five to six teams have called the Broncos and that the number might be higher. The compensation being discussed is a low-round draft pick, a person familiar with the situation said. This source believes Tebow will be traded for a fifth or sixth rounder.

For now, no one will say which teams are calling. League speculation -- and it's just general managers chatting -- is that the Jaguars are serious contenders for Tebow. No one would be surprised if he ended up in New England.

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The report issues the Broncos are confident they can trade Tim Tebow by the end of the week. 

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 11:25 a.m. ET

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk passes along a report from Monica Culpepper, the wife of one of Tebow's friends from Florida, who recently talked with the quarterback:

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"Brad and I just had dinner with Tim last week and I don’t think this comes as a shock or surprise to him that Manning was actually going to go there," she said. "And in all honesty, Tim said, ‘I miss home. I miss the South. And hopefully I’ll land somewhere in Florida.’ I sure hope Jacksonville takes him because he’s such a great kid, such a good player and would be so thrilled to come back to the South."

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Returning to Florida would only increase the size of Tebow Mania and put a lot of pressure on the starting quarterback of whichever team lands him, whether it be Jacksonville or Miami. That's a risk teams might not be willing to take.

The Broncos are working hard to find a team to take him, so Tebow's hopes probably won't play a major role in the decision. They are just searching for the best possible offer so the Manning Era can begin. If it happens to be from a Florida team, so be it.

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 9:55 a.m. ET

The Tebow market is heating up quickly, according to Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union. She passed along a report that states the Broncos are already talking with teams about him.

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Adam Schefter says on ESPN the Broncos have already fielded calls about Tebow and they would like to get the trade done quickly.

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 20, 2012"

It's no surprise that Denver wants to get a deal done, since every passing day with Tebow on the roster will become a bigger hassle. What is surprising is the amount of interest he's generated, at least based off all the rumors to this point.

Tebow would bring his popularity to help boost ticket sales, but he's not somebody teams should be relying on to lead an offense. Trick plays and special gimmick packages is about his ceiling at this point, so they can't overpay to get him.

If his market is developing as fast as it seems, a resolution shouldn't be too far away. Only time will tell, though. The speculation could very well be smoke from the Broncos in an attempt to drum up interest.

Update: Tuesday, March 20 at 8:40 a.m. ET

A couple new teams have emerged as potential suitors for Tebow.

First, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk reports the Green Bay Packers could be an under-the-radar team in the Tebow sweepstakes after losing backup quarterback Matt Flynn. Head coach Mike McCarthy has long been a fan of Tebow.

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"I’d love the opportunity to develop him," McCarthy said of Tebow in March of 2010. "He’s a winner, and I’m excited to see what he does in the National Football League. He wins games, he’s a tremendous competitor and he’s like a lot of young quarterbacks; there’s some things he can work on to improve on. But you can see his tremendous passion in the way he plays the game, and it will be interesting to see who has the opportunity to develop him."

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Then there's the New York Jets. Rich Cimini of ESPN New York calls the Jets a long shot to land Tebow, but doesn't complete rule it out.

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The Jets are often linked to star players when they become available -- see Peyton Manning -- so now everyone is speculating about Tim Tebow. The chances of them aggressively pursuing Tim Tebow are “a long shot at best,” a league source said Monday.

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum has a reputation for exploring just about everything and, after all, a “long shot” doesn’t mean no shot.

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Of those two options, the Jets would be a better fit for Tebow. At least there, he has a chance of seeing the field without waiting for an injury or two to occur. The Packers aren't going to take one of the league's top quarterbacks off the field to run gadget plays.

Mark Sanchez doesn't exactly enter the season with a long leash, either. He's struggled to assert himself as a franchise quarterback, and a couple poor starts could open the door for Tebow, just like what happened with Kyle Orton in Denver.

As with every trade possibility, it will come down to asking price. No team will be willing to give the Broncos an arm and a leg for a quarterback who completes less than half his passes.

Original Update

Two teams that will likely be speculated about the most in the comings days will be the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins. Both teams have unsettled quarterback competitions and could view Tebow as another option.

The Broncos went 7-4 with Tebow under center last regular season. He proceeded to lead them to a playoff victory over the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though the stats were rarely pretty, he always found a way to get the job done.

Aside from the football ramifications, Tebow will bring a gigantic group of fans with him wherever he lands. The former Florida Gators star has built up a base of supporters that's nearly unmatched throughout the NFL.

So, whatever team lands him can expect an instant boost in jersey sales and media coverage. There's something about Tebow that attracts the spotlight, even if he's a backup.

ESPN Boston mentions an intriguing possibility of Tebow joining the Patriots. Tom Brady is obviously entrenched as the starter, but Tebow would give them some options on offense.

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"Here's an interesting proposition, just a rumor. Let's say you have Manning going to Denver," Clayton said on ESPN Radio over the weekend. "Tim Tebow is probably going to be traded. He's not going to Jacksonville, they've already got Chad Henne. New England. You trade him to New England and groom him to be kind of a role player, and then you trade Ryan Mallett in some way. It's just a rumor."

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It's not the perfect scenario for Tebow, who has always maintained the belief that he can be a successful starter, but there isn't a clear path to a starting job to be had. Especially for a player with a shaky passing track record like his.

Going to New England would allow him to learn from an elite quarterback. And Bill Belichick always has a couple tricks up his sleeve, so he wouldn't have to worry about being stuck on the bench permanently.

It's just one of several possibilities that will be run through the rumor mill over the next couple days as the Broncos begin to set up for the Manning era. Denver appears ready to move on from the Tebow hype machine, so it's just a matter of what the front office can get for him.

Keep checking back for the latest information about Tebow's potential landing spots and how a move will affect him.