KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Is there a place in the NFL for Tim Tebow?
It's a question that will be asked often this offseason as the New York Jets look to find a trade partner (unlikely) for their quarterback or release him. It's a question John Elway was asked Thursday morning on WFAN radio.
"In the right situation, I think it's a possibility," the Denver Broncos executive said. "He's got to be in the right situation."
Elway did not elaborate past those statements (mostly because Boomer Esiason insisted on talking over him), but it's clear Elway understands the fine line he is walking when discussing the polarizing Tebow. He understands Tebow's rabid fan base when he says things like "I think Tim Tebow has a lot of fans. You know, and I had to take care of the Denver Broncos."
As if Elway still needs to explain that one. The Broncos' undisputed upgrade at quarterback with Peyton Manning during the last offseason should have laid that to rest.
"He's a good kid and he works his tail off," Elway said.
That's a deep pool of NFL prospects (good kid, works tail off), but it doesn't make you, necessarily, an NFL player. Some, like our own Gil Brandt, have suggested a position change would benefit Tebow at this point in his career.
We caught up with Demaryius Thomas at the Pro Bowl and asked him if there was a spot in the NFL for his former Broncos teammate.
"I think there is," said Thomas, who hooked up with Tebow on perhaps the greatest walk-off touchdown in NFL playoff history. Asked where Tebow might land, Thomas said, "I have no idea, but he's a great player."
Notice he did not say "quarterback." I picked up on this and pressed a little by asking if a position switch would be in Tebow's best interest and if the two had ever talked about this possibility since Tebow left Denver (Thomas says they remain friends and talk often by phone).
"We don't talk football," Thomas said. "I just talk to him as a friend."
It's a much softer tone than the one he displayed last April when Thomas was critical of Tebow's play at quarterback. Understandable at the time since Thomas was caught up in the Peyton Manning euphoria.
Understandable, too, is the reaction both he and Elway have had to the same question during the last two days. Good person, hard worker ... not quite sure about his NFL future.
Andy Fenelon is a senior editor at NFL.com. You can follow him on Twitter _@AndyFenelon_.
