Peyton Manning has made his decision, and will play for the Denver Broncos next season.
ESPN is reporting that Manning made up his mind and instructed his agent to begin negotiations with the Denver Broncos today. The general terms of the deal were a 5-year, $90 million contract, similar to the contract he signed last year with the Indianapolis Colts. Broncos vice president John Elway has reportedly agreed to the general parameters of the deal, and has told Manning that the contract will not be a stumbling block.
The Broncos have also reportedly discussed reaching out to center Jeff Saturday, who is available as a free agent, to try to bring him in along with Manning. Saturday has been the man snapping the ball to Peyton Manning since 1999 and would provide a familiar face and a great comfort level with Manning.
With the Manning decision in place, the other quarterback dominoes can now begin to fall. Manning also called the other contenders this morning, the San Francisco 49ers and the Tennessee Titans, to let them know.
Manning’s decision leaves the 49ers scrambling, as their contract talks with last year’s starter Alex Smith had stalled, and he visited the Miami Dolphins over the weekend and reportedly began negotiations with them. You can bet that head coach Jim Harbaugh’s first phone call after talking to Manning was to Smith. The two had a very close relationship last year, but it has been strained in recent days as Harbaugh and the 49ers lobbied Manning to come to San Francisco.
San Francisco is still the best landing spot for Smith, as he has experience with the team and excelled under Harbaugh last season. The 49ers, who were a couple plays short of the Super Bowl last season, have considerably more talent than the Dolphins and have recently added both Randy Moss and Mario Manningham to the receiving corps, making the 49ers QB position that much more appealing. Also, Smith has played under a different offensive coordinator every season of his career, and if he returns to San Francisco, this would be the first time as a pro that he would have the same offensive system for two years in a row. All those factors make the 49ers the logical choice, and Smith is known to be a calm, logical decision maker, but it depends on what Miami is offering and how much damage was done to the relationship during the Courtship of Peyton Manning.
Denver will reportedly look to trade quarterback Tim Tebow, who led the Broncos to the playoffs last season. One of the landing spots for Tebow was reported to be the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this off season, but the Jaguars have second year quarterback, and last year’s number 10 overall draft pick, Blaine Gabbert and recently signed Chad Henne as a backup to Gabbert. Henne could potentially push Gabbert for the starting job in this off season, so adding another potential number one quarterback in Tebow now seems less likely.
Assuming Smith ultimately stays in San Francisco, Tebow to Miami would seem like a logical choice, and potentially very good for both parties. The Dolphins need a quarterback and have been shut out so far by the various candidates they courted (from Manning to Matt Flynn). The return of Tebow to Florida would provide a huge shot in the arm to ticket sales, and the Dolphins have a strong running game already. In addition, coach Joe Philbin is an expert in developing quarterback talent, and might be just what Tebow needs to improve as a passer – some mentoring from the man that coached Aaron Rodgers.
Now that the biggest free agent quaterback has made up his mind, the next moves are going to be coming quickly. Stay tuned.
