New Pair of Horseshoes

Manning is making Denver is

next NFL home.

It looks like two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history are teaming up.

Nearly two weeks after being released from the only team he'd ever played for, Peyton Manning has informed his agent to open contract negotiations with the Denver Broncos. Manning also called Hall of Famer and the Broncos vice president of football operation, John Elway, Monday morning to inform him of his decision.

Elway played his entire 16-year career with Denver, becoming the greatest quarterback in franchise history. He played in a record five Super Bowls, winning two of them in 1997 and 1998.

Manning, 36, hopes to do the same.

The San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans were the other two teams still vying for Manning's services, but were also notified by Manning himself that he would be playing for the Broncos.

Initial contract negations are said to be worth $95 million over a five-year span.

Manning is a record four-time NFL Most Valuable Player and a Super Bowl champion. He has thrown for 54, 828 yards in his career and one touchdown shy of joining the elusive 400 club. And until his injury this year, that caused him to miss the entire season, Manning had been the league's active iron man, playing in the second most consecutive games (208) in NFL history.

He becomes only the fifth quarterback in NFL to win multiple league MVPs with the same team and then go play for another, joining Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. However, Warner is the only one to reach a Super Bowl with another team, that coming as an Arizona Cardinal in 2009.

There question is, what will Denver do with their current starting quarterback?

According to sources, the Broncos will try and trade Tim Tebow, making 'Tebowmania' a brief phenomenon in Colorado.

Last season, Tebow took over an 0-4 Bronco team helped lead them back to the postseason, somewhere they hadn't been since 2005. En route to that playoff appearance, Tebow orchestrated a six-game winning streak, including five fourth quarter comebacks.

In the postseason, Tebow led the Broncos to an improbable, overtime victory over the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, 29-23. In that win and on the first play of overtime, Tebow threw a career-high, 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas, ending the extra period before it even got started.

But Tebow and Co. would be over matched the following week in Foxborough, being upended by the New England Patriots, 45-10.

However, despite all of his overachieving in 201, Tebow completed just 46.5 percent of his passes and averaged just 123.5 passing yards per game both ranked last in the NFL.

There's no question a lot more work needs to be done if Tebow is going to be a consistent starting quarterback in the NFL, but he possesses the passion and motivation to do so. Jacksonville, Miami and Cleveland have already been linked to Tebow's future, but only time will tell where exactly the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner will land next.

It was just two months ago Elway stated in his season wrap-up new conference, "Tim is the starting quarterback going into training camp."

He also added, "He made great strides. He has earned the right to be the starter going into training camp next year."

Those statements have since gone by the waist side with the inevitable addition of Manning.

With Manning's arrival to Denver, 'Tebow

Time' is all but over.

Considering the Broncos finished 8-8 a year ago, winning the AFC West Division title and came within a victory of playing in the AFC title game, Manning makes Denver a Super Bowl contender. In his last season playing for the Colts, he led them to a 10-6 record and their ninth straight playoff berth.

Without Manning, Indianapolis finished an NFL-worst 2-14, proving his value to the franchise once and for all, even if it wasn't in question.

A man that once resurrected a horseshoe is putting on a different pair in 2012.