(Pensinger/Getty)

There have been conflicting reports about whether Tim Tebow was given a choice between the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars when the Denver Broncos were actively trading the quarterback last week. The Broncos reportedly said they gave him the choice; Tebow’s camp denied such reports.

Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King offers some logical clarification:

Tebow and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, absolutely had a choice on where the Broncos would trade Tebow, despite Tebow’s statement that only Denver controlled that. The Jags had a better fourth-round pick on the table than the Jets were offering — by seven draft slots. The Jags were offering $500,000 more than the Jets in compensation for the advances paid on his contract. But Denver was willing to deal Tebow to either team. And it was a very difficult choice for the young quarterback, because he is from Jacksonville. But the decision made sense. The Jets wanted him more, and would use him more, ostensibly. It’s simple.

So while fans may continue to bash John Elway for Tebow’s exit from Dove Valley, they did a pretty classy thing in giving Tebow a choice between franchises: a move most other clubs wouldn’t mirror, and one that cost the Broncos $500k.

Sean Payton’s suspension the talk of NFL owners meetings [Sports Illustrated] (H/T IAOFM!)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon. (Image courtesy of Chris Keane/Reuters)Â

The Denver Broncos are interested in Pittsburgh Steelers‘ quarterback Dennis Dixon, per ESPN‘s Bill Williamson.

The Broncos are visiting with Pittsburgh reserve quarterback Dennis Dixon. His visit started before Denver signed QB Caleb Hanie. Hanie has the inside track to back up Peyton Manning in Denver, but the Broncos are still interested in signing Dixon to compete with Hanie during training camp.

If Dixon is signed, Denver may still draft a quarterback to develop.

With Manning, Hanie and Adam Weber already on the roster, Dixon would become the fourth quarterback and a rookie would give the team five.  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

(Image courtesy of EA Sports)

If you believe in the Madden Curse, have no fear.  A current Denver Broncos‘ player will not grace the cover — this year.

EA Sports is letting fans vote for the players to represent each team this year in a voting bracket which runs through the month of March.  Naturally, former Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was voted as the representative for Denver.

Shortly after Tebow was voted-in, he was traded to the New York Jets.  So in EA Sports’ Madden ’13 Cover Vote, the Jets are represented by two players:  Darrell Revis and Tim Tebow.

The Broncos are not represented.  Similarly, the St. Louis Rams — who were represented by former Broncos’ wide receiver Brandon Lloyd — are not represented in the voting, as Lloyd is now playing in New England.

The Patriots (Gronkowski, Lloyd) and Jets (Revis, Tebow) are represented by two players while the Broncos and Rams are represented by none.  It’s an interesting development, if those types of things interest you.

This is an opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the rest of the BT staff.

New Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning holds a Broncos jersey next to Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway during an NFL football news conference at the Broncos headquarters in Englewood, Colo., on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Of course, I must first start with a disclaimer:  I have been following quarterback Tim Tebow since his sophomore season at the University of Florida and have been a big fan of him since his collegiate football days.  I will continue to follow him throughout his career and acknowledge that he is an incredible athlete, fantastic football player and a great person with commendable character.

With that said, I have become increasingly disappointed and extremely frustrated with the magnitude of Broncos fans who have also followed Tebow — some of whom followed him all the way to New York.  There’s nothing wrong with being a fan of Tebow and hoping he has success with his new team, but some facts need to be set straight.

“I have been a Broncos fan for [a certain amount of] years but I despise the way John Elway treated Tim Tebow and will have trouble rooting for Denver this season,” has been said countless times on this site and many others since the team traded Tebow.  We’ll talk about that, first.  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Quarterback Caleb Hanie #12 of the Chicago Bears is sacked by linebacker Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on December 11, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Bears 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos have agreed to terms with former Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie, according to ESPN Chicago.  Per the ESPN report, Hanie signed a two-year deal with the team.

The Broncos are expected to add another quarterback — either through free agency or the draft — and bring four QB’s to training camp this summer.  Depending on who else the team brings in, Hanie has a good shot of earning the No. 2 QB job behind starter Peyton Manning.

We assume that Denver will have their quarterbacks listed on #1, #2 and #3 on the depth chart this season, unless history repeats itself.  Last season, the Broncos’ second and third-string quarterbacks were listed as “Co-No. 2 QB’s” on Denver’s depth chart, on two different occasions.

When Hanie’s signing becomes official, Manning, Hanie and second-year player Adam Weber will be the three quarterbacks on Denver’s roster.  Last season, Weber spent most of the year on the practice squad — Hanie started in four games when Jay Cutler went down with an injury in Chicago.

In his career (10 games, 4 starts), Hanie has gone 59-of-116 for 679 yards and three touchdowns against ten interceptions (nine of them coming last season).  Against the Broncos in Week 14 of last season, Hanie went 12-of-19 for 115 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions and was sacked four times.

Hanie was signed by the Bears in 2008 after going undrafted.  At 6-2, 222 pounds, Hanie is entering his fifth season in the league.

The Broncos couldn’t have been overly impressed by Hanie when they played against him last season, so this signing comes across as a bit peculiar at first glance.  Perhaps the team is planning on him being the third-quarterback this season?  Time will tell. 

• NFL.com is doing a Bracketology for fans to determine which team was the greatest in NFL History.  The 1998 Denver Broncos are currently losing in the voting to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens (really?!).  Be sure to vote for the Broncos on NFL.com.  [H/T, Doom92]

• I was on KURE Sports Radio yesterday talking about Peyton Manning coming to Denver, you can listen to the podcast here.  [KURE Sports]

• The Broncos and the BT Staff send our condolences to the family of former Broncos defensive back Lonnie Wright, who recently passed away at age 67.  [Official Site]

• With Mike Tolbert landing in Carolina, there has been speculation that the Panthers may place fellow running back Jonathan Stewart on the trading block.  This led to further speculation that he could land in Denver.  Panther’s G.M. Marty Hurney: “Not so fast.”  The team would like to keep all three backs — DeAngelo Williams, Tolbert and Stewart — on the roster (selfish little punks).  [BLS/PFW]

• Courtesy of the Denver Post, you can now print off a Desktop Peyton Manning and a Desktop Tim Tebow (Jets version).  [First-And-Orange]

• John Elway‘s confidence and control brings swagger back to Broncos, writes Albert Breer.  [NFL.com]

• The old band — Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday and Dallas Clark — won’t be getting back together again.  [MaxDenver]

Press release courtesy of the Denver Broncos —

Indianapolis Colts tight end Jacob Tamme (84) is sandwiched between New England Patriots outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich (50) and another Patriot during the first half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. The Patriots defeated the Colts 31-24. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The Denver Broncos agreed to terms with tight end Jacob Tamme on Friday, Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway announced.

Tamme (6-foot-3, 236 pounds) is a fifth-year player who saw time in 60 regular-season games (14 starts) with Indianapolis and totaled 92 receptions for 855 yards (9.3 avg.) with five touchdowns. In five playoff appearances (1 start), he caught five passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg.).

Selected by the Colts in the fourth-round (127th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft from the University of Kentucky, Tamme’s best NFL season came in 2010 when he started eight games and set career highs with 67 catches for 631 yards (9.4 avg.) with four touchdowns.

He opened 37-of-48 career games for Kentucky and recorded 133 receptions for 1,417 yards (10.7 avg.) with 11 touchdowns. His 133 receptions ranked first in school history and second in Southeastern Conference annals among tight ends.

Tamme attended Boyle County High School in Danville, Ky., and was born on March 15, 1985.

A rotational defensive lineman entering his second season, Mitch Unrein recorded eight tackles last season. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

It seems like we have this conversation every off-season.

“On Denver’s roster, defensive tackle seems to be a big area of need, and the Broncos seemingly have done nothing about it,” commentators frequently write, rightfully so.  This off-season, the Broncos have already lost one defensive tackle (Brodrick Bunkley), and may be on the verge of losing another in Marcus Thomas.

Meanwhile, the team is yet to sign a defensive tackle in free agency.  While the team may still bring in one or more defensive tackles during free agency, fans need to also remember that the draft is approaching and Denver has a plan.

This year’s draft is deep at the defensive tackle position and as many as five DT’s are expected to go in the first round of selections alone (5-of-32 picks).  Relying on a rookie will not solve Denver’s problems in the interior of the line, but several prospects in the draft have the potential to become a cornerstone on Denver’s defensive line.  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

(Goldman/AP)

Just about every player or coach involved in the New Orleans Saints‘ bounty scandal has issues with the NFL’s investigation and resultant punishment of Sean Payton and the Saints franchise. New Denver Broncos cornerback Tracy Porter, who played his first four seasons with the Saints, is among them.

Porter told reporters in a conference call this morning that he was not interviewed as part of the league’s BountyGate investigation, per Andrew Mason of CBS Sports and MaxDenver.com, and that he has issue with the reports on the scandal at a foundational level.

“The whole label of ‘bounty’ is absurd,” Porter said. “There’s definitely no bounty on any player out there in the game. We’re just playing football.”

Porter’s comments are interesting, but the punishment dealt by the league suggests the “bounty” label is far from absurd. Hopefully the NFL’s lack of communication with Porter means he isn’t being considered for punishment in the form of a suspension. He only has one year as a Denver Bronco, after all.

For all of those Bronco fans hoping Jeff Saturday would sign in Denver, today is not your day.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Mr. Saturday has signed with the Green Bay Packers.

Many, well most, believed that Saturday would undoubtedly sign in Denver due to the presence of Peyton Manning (It still feels weird saying that). However, the Packers are in a desperate need for a center in the wake of the loss of Scott Wells.

The Broncos will either have to hope J.D. Walton will improve, or look elsewhere for an upgrade.