Tim Tebow stood before a mass of media members at his introductory press conference with the New York Jets and said that he’s glad to be in the Big Apple -- and that the Jets were the team he wanted the Broncos to trade him to.
Last week Tebow and Broncos boss John Elway differed in their accounts of how the trade from Denver to New York transpired, with Tebow saying he didn’t have any say. However, Tebow said Monday that the Broncos, and especially head coach John Fox, were gracious to him in asking him his preferences about where he’d like to play. Although Tebow said he would have enjoyed playing with his hometown team in Jacksonville, he said he spoke with Jets coach Rex Ryan and was even more excited about the role he could have with the Jets.
“They said ‘We have a few teams that are interested, similar deals,’ and he was very gracious to ask me what I thought,” Tebow said Monday of his conversations with the Broncos last week. “I told him I would love to be a Jet, and I told him that, also, the Jaguars are my hometown and whatever was best for them. He said the same for me. Ultimately they had my contract, they had all the power, but he listened to me and what I had to say. It was very gracious of them because they didn’t have to do that. They could have just done whatever but he listened to me and talked to me and I told him I would love to be a Jet.”
Tebow had nothing but positive things to say about the Broncos, mentioning them from the outset of his press conference.
“It’s such an honor for me to be here and I’m so excited about being a Jet,” Tebow said. “First and foremost I just want to thank the Broncos for my time in Denver. It was an amazing time.”
Tebow joins the Jets as the backup to Mark Sanchez, and that means Sanchez will be under increased scrutiny. But Tebow said he and Sanchez will get along just fine.
“Me and Mark have a great relationship,” he said. “We’ve been friends, we text back and forth, we’ve talked already, and we’re going to have a great relationship, a great working relationship and a lot of fun together.”
Some have wondered why a backup quarterback is getting an introductory press conference at all. Tebow said the Jets wanted him to do it.
“I have bosses, too,” Tebow said. “I can blame it on them because they made me do it.”