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Tim Tebow was injured during Saturday's loss to the New England Patriots. He received multiple injuries to his chest.
Tim Tebow didn't have the best of games against the New England Patriots, but even news of his injury can't explain away what we saw in the first half. But now we know why Brady Quinn was throwing on the sidelines during the game, as the Associated Press' Arnie Stapleton reminds us:
Backup Brady Quinn got ready after Tebow was hit by Vince Wilfork and Rob Ninkovich, but Tebow stayed in.
One week after it was reported that Quinn was receiving more snaps than usual in practice or that he could appear on third downs against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Quinn almost had his first chance to play this season as a result of an injury to Tebow.
Stapleton also reports that the Broncos have yet to acknowledge publicly the injury, but that Tebow did play through "considerable pain."
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Check out SB Nation NFL for more on the 2012 NFL Playoffs and the coming offseason.
Tim Tebow suffered multiple chest injuries in the Denver Broncos' 45-10 loss to the New England Patriots in the 2012 NFL Playoffs, according to a report by ESPN. This forced him to play through pain for most of the second half. According to Schefter, Tebow tore cartilage on his first rib at the point where it connects to his sternum, bruised his lung and also had fluid accumulate in the "plural space" of his chest, though it was not specified how, or if, any of the injuries were related to any other.
According to Schefter, the injuries stemmed from a hit Tebow took in the pocket early in the third quarter, and were severe enough to require an MRI this past Monday and rehab throughout this week. Schefter's report contained no timeline on when Tebow will be fully recovered from the injuries, but his source does believe that Tebow will be able to begin his offseason training program on time.
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Check out SB Nation NFL for more on the 2012 NFL Playoffs and the coming offseason.
On Monday afternoon, Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway announced that Tim Tebow "has earned the right" to be the team's quarterback in 2012 once training camp begins:
Elway: "Tim (Tebow) has earned the right to be the starting quarterback going into training camp next year. He made some good strides."
— Denver Broncos (@Denver_Broncos) January 16, 2012
But we should expect the Broncos to bring in other quarterbacks, be it through the draft or through free agency, since Tebow and Adam Weber are the only other ones under contract for the 2012 season. Elway went on to confirm that he will indeed work with Tebow throughout the offseason.
Tebow missed an entire offseason of working with Elway as a result of the lockout that lasted from March through the end of July. But we'll need to see how much of a leash Tebow is on as the starter in the fall. If he struggles with accuracy and completion percentage again, he might not last that long. But we have months to find that all out.
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Check out SB Nation NFL for more on the 2012 NFL Playoffs and the coming offseason.
Tim Tebow Injury: Broncos QB Would Have Been Unlikely To Play In AFC Title Game
We'll never know for certain after Tim Tebow's chest injuries during Saturday's Denver Broncos loss to the New England Patriots, but those afflictions would likely have kept the quarterback out for the AFC Championship Title game had the team won, reports the Denver Post.
The immediate effect of that would have been the installation of Brady Quinn as the starting quarterback. Brady, as we know, hasn't taken a snap in an NFL game outside of the preseason in over two years. The Broncos offense would also have shifted to a different playbook to accommodate the different style of play with Quinn under center. Now, Quinn enters free agency and a possible departure from the Broncos.
As for Tebow, though he was named an alternate for the 2012 Pro Bowl, he would be unlikely to participate in it if Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers had to drop out.
For more on the Broncos, visit Mile High Report. Check out SB Nation NFL for more on the 2012 NFL Playoffs and the coming offseason.
Jan 18 1:08p by Russ Oates