The Peyton Manning to Blaine Gabbert Connection

Quarterback Peyton Manning’s departure from Indianapolis will shape not only the future the Colts, but also that of his former AFC South rivals in Jacksonville, Fla.

Manning met with the Denver Broncos for six hours earlier today, and they make as much sense as anywhere else as a possible destination for Manning. They have a weak division, a capable defense, a powerful running game, and a receiving tandem of Demayrius Thomas and Reggie Wayne.

Manning’s far from a slam dunk to sign with Denver, but the Broncos have all the pieces have as good, if not better, of a chance to lure Manning to their team. As pointed out by ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio, the Jaguars make sense as a landing spot for quarterback Tim Tebow if Manning takes the reins in Denver:

"And so perhaps in the end the owner who said that he would have drafted Tebow in 2010 will get a shot at getting the guy who will allow the tarps to be put in mothballs.“One hundred percent I would have,” Jags owner Shad Khan said last month.  “Absolutely. . . . Obviously the Rams drafted Sam Bradford, and I was talking to Wayne [Weaver] then on what they ought to do. . . .“Some of the stuff might not be politically correct, but I share your sentiment.  I think, when is the next time Jacksonville is going to have an athlete like Tim Tebow?”If Manning goes to Denver, Jacksonville still can."

Khan has made it clear he sees Tebow as a special player. Whether Tebow will be such a player is still to be seen. If the Jaguars do see Tebow as that player, they no longer have room for Blaine Gabbert. NFL rosters don’t have room for two developmental quarterbacks who need to improve their release, pocket presence and ability to go through progressions. Tebow would be the clear-cut starter, so Gabbert would be on his way out in Jacksonville, whether via release or a trade for an extremely late-round pick.

Either way, Gabbert will have gone from a top-ten draft pick to some team’s backup “project” quarterback in simply a year. For that reason, Gabbert has to be hoping Manning goes anywhere but Denver.