Tim Tebow and the rest of his camp kept quiet throughout his team's courtship of Peyton Manning, and when news broke Monday that Manning intended to make Denver his new home, not a word could be heard from Tebow.
Tebow's silent strategy, however, didn't take into account for Monica Culpepper -- wife of former NFL and Florida Gators player Brad Culpepper -- who might have inadvertently revealed Tebow's preferred landing spot when she detailed a conversation with Tebow to WFLA-AM in Tampa Bay.
"Brad and I just had dinner with Tim last week and I don't think this comes as a shock or surprise to him that Manning was actually going to go there," Culpepper told the radio station Tuesday, via ProFootballTalk.com. "And in all honesty, Tim said, 'I miss home. I miss the South. And hopefully I'll land somewhere in Florida.' I sure hope Jacksonville takes him because he's such a great kid, such a good player and would be so thrilled to come back to the South."
A source told NFL Network's Albert Breer on Monday that the Broncos had begun to explore Tebow trade options. Five teams already have expressed interest in the Broncos' one-time starting quarterback, a league source told NFL Network's Michael Lombardi on Tuesday.
Tebow threw for 12 touchdown passes and six interceptions while leading the team to seven wins in 11 starts and a dramatic overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild-card round.
While Tebow might be eyeing a return to the state in which he starred for four years and won two national championships at the University of Florida, at least one Broncos teammate hopes he will stay in the Rocky Mountains.
"I'm hoping that some way, or somehow, we can work it out and somehow keep Tim there," Von Miller told NFL Network on Monday. "If he could just (learn) one or two things from Peyton, I think Tim would be one of the best one or two quarterbacks in the league."
"I think with Tim's personality and Tim's work ethic, it doesn't matter who's going to come in. He's going to go out there and compete," Miller added. "In my opinion, I think that it can be a co-existence."
