Tim Tebow: John Elway Taking High Road Saves Denver Broncos' Image

John Elway played his hand perfectly. The former Denver Broncos quarterback could have been brutally honest about Tim Tebow's passing ability, but instead decided to take the high road, which will help the Broncos overcome the likely loss of their most popular player.

Tebow's name continues to circulate in trade rumors. David Pingalore of WKMG Sports reports a deal is expected to be finished on Wednesday. So, it looks like the quarterback who led Denver to a playoff victory will soon be taking his talents elsewhere.

Instead of harshly explaining various reasons the Broncos chose Manning over Tebow, Elway has continued to praise the young star. The Associated Press passed along some thoughts from the Denver legend to illustrate his safe approach.

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Tim Tebow is a great kid. If I want someone to marry my daughter, it would be him. But I think with the opportunity to have Peyton Manning's services, we had to take advantage of that. Now that it's happened, we have to go back and address Tim and see what the best situation is for the Denver Broncos, as well as him.

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Elway knows the entire organization is walking a tight rope. If they take one false step into negative territory when it comes to Tebow, there will be a major backlash from his legion of supporters. They can't afford that after signing Manning.

He could have easily come out and told the truth. The difference between a healthy Manning and Tebow is gigantic. The team's newest acquisition is among the best signal-callers to ever step on an NFL field and Tebow completes less than half his passes.

Nobody would have been able to say he was wrong, but sometimes the truth is best left unsaid. That's especially true when you're dealing with somebody as popular as Tebow, where his mystique far outweighs the cold-hearted facts.

Knowing that ahead of time allowed Denver to start planning an exit strategy. Assuming a deal does get done, the front office will have executed it to perfection.

Manning was one of only a few quarterbacks the Broncos could have brought in and fans would actually understand trading Tebow without thinking twice. If they tried a similar bait-and-switch with a lower-level quarterback, fans wouldn't have accepted Tebow's fate so easily.

It's actually a win-win scenario for Denver. The Broncos bring in Manning to boost their playoff and championship hopes and get to move Tebow, who was never going to be a long-term answer barring a huge turnaround anyway, without his fans going crazy.

Give credit to Elway for making sure it all went off without a hitch. The Broncos are in much better shape than they were a couple days ago, that's for sure.