So much for the Ninth Commandment.
Last week, Tim Tebow said he had no say in his post-Denver destination. On Monday, he admitted that he had input, but that he was fine with going to the Jets or the Jaguars.
Jaguars owner Shahid Khan says otherwise.
“He didn’t want to come, obviously,” Khan said Monday, via Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union. “Any one of the 53 players we have, have to be committed to Jacksonville, making us be the best team we are. The question was: Did he want to come? And if the decision had been taken out [of his hands] and we got him, that would not be good for him, or for us.”
As the Jaguars tell the story, the Broncos claim that they indeed let Tebow choose between the two possible destinations.
“In a way, this turned out great,” Khan said. “If he doesn’t want to come, here we would have blown through a draft pick, blown through money, because cash and salary cap, you’ve blown through all that and we have a player who doesn’t want to be there. From their viewpoint that is a far, far better alternative.”
But that shouldn’t be viewed as a slight against the Jaguars. Thanks to G.M. Gene Smith’s ambivalence, Tebow viewed the Jets as a team that wanted him more. If the Jets hadn’t wanted Tebow, Tebow would have been smiling and gushing and generally acting like Buddy the Elf at a press conference in Jacksonville.
Besides, a lot can happen within the next few years. At some point, the Jets could have a new regime that doesn’t like Tebow. At that point, the team that was his second choice in 2012 could become his first choice.
Or maybe his only choice.
Next time, there’s no guarantee Khan will want Tebow. Unless, of course, Khan still wants to get rid of the tarps.
UPDATE 3:33 p.m. ET: During Monday’s press conference, Tebow talked about his input to the Broncos regarding the eventual trade destination.