Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas said Friday that he wasn't trying to disparage Tim Tebow when he implied earlier this week that he wasn't "sad" to see the quarterback shipped to the New York Jets.
"When I had my interview, I wasn't trying to go in the interview and just put Tebow down as a quarterback," Thomas told KKFN-FM in Denver (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "I was just answering the questions, you know? But ever since the interview, you know, it's just been -- I've been getting badmouthed left and right. Like, 'You're not a good receiver anyway,' and all this and that. So I'm just looking over that."
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On Wednesday, when he was asked if he mourned the loss of Tebow in an interview with WQXI-AM in Atlanta, Thomas gave the impression that he didn't. He said that he "wasn't getting no balls, and you had to make some of these plays where some players were open and he is not making the throws." He added that he didn't "want to talk bad about Tim, but hey, I am happy we got Peyton (Manning)."
The receiver tried to clarify his remarks on Friday.
Tebow, Thomas said, "gave me the chance to make plays. And I respect that and I love Tim for that. It wasn't no hard feelings or nothing against Tim. But he's a great player. If we had him, I'd love to have him. If we had him still, there wouldn't be no problem me playing with him. It's just that we've got another quarterback now, and I really don't talk about much about Tim no more, since he's not here with us."
Tebow was traded to the Jets after the Broncos landed free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning in March. Tebow's long touchdown pass to Thomas in the wild-card round of the 2011 playoffs was typical of the late-game heroics Tebow became famous for that season.
Thomas said Friday that he's "not even gonna talk about" Tebow anymore, adding that he's "proud for" his former teammate.