Thomas wishes Tebow had stayed in Denver

Denver Broncos receiver DeMaryius Thomas said he wishes that last year's starter Tim Tebow had stayed in Denver to be Peyton Manning's backup.

"Me and Tim, if you look at our stats, we had a great year together," Thomas said Tuesday night on NFL Network's NFL Total Access via USA Today. "And I wish he would have stayed around so maybe he could have learned some things from Peyton."

The Broncos instead opted completely out of Tebowmania, shipping the left-hander to the New York Jets in the off-season once they landed Manning.

Thomas and Tebow's time together in Denver proved to be short, but it did provide one lasting memory - the 80-yard touchdown in overtime to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild-Card Playoffs.

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com