Broncos coach Fox insists no position switch for QB Tebow

Denver Broncos coach John Fox made it absolutely clear Monday that Tim Tebow's future lies in throwing passes, not catching them.

One day after using his backup quarterback as an emergency wide receiver, Fox reiterated: "He is a quarterback."

But in a pinch, Tebow makes an interesting decoy. Not that Fox wants to travel down that road again.

The Broncos entered Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals with just three healthy wideouts after Pro Bowl pick Brandon Lloyd was a late scratch because of a lingering groin injury.

Broncos team executive John Elway said Monday the team believed that Lloyd would be available, so the team promoted a running back instead of a wide receiver from the practice squad.

And when Eddie Royal (groin) was hurt early in Sunday's contest, the Broncos were down to just two receivers: Eric Decker, who was making his first career start, and Matt Willis, who has only one start in four NFL seasons.

That forced Fox to use Tebow for a handful of plays out wide, especially since the former University of Florida standout knew the offense so intricately.

Tebow donned his receiver's gloves and ran the routes just like he was supposed to, even if Kyle Orton hardly glanced in his direction.

On Monday, Fox joked that Tebow stepped in and "actually graded 100 percent."

No joke: Tebow won't be switching positions anytime soon.

"We'll list him on the program as a quarterback," said Fox, who earned his first win with Denver as the Broncos fended off the Bengals 24-22. "Tim wants to win, like everyone in that locker room. He does have a skill set outside of a lot of quarterbacks."

The Broncos might be shorthanded at wide receiver for a while. The Denver Post reported Monday that Royal will miss at least two weeks and might not return to play until after the team's bye in Week 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.