Drew Stanton was not a member of the New York Jets long enough to do much of anything. Except get a whiff of Tebowmania, the craziness that surrounds the Jets organization, ask for a trade and quickly get one to the Indianapolis Colts. Where he will be a first-hand observer to the madness that will surround the Indianapolis Colts once they select Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck next month to replace Peyton Manning.
Stanton joined John Michael Vincent on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis recently to discuss the wacky recent events which saw him sign a free-agent contract with the Jets, watch them trade for Tim Tebow, request a trade of his own and land in Indianapolis. Sports Radio Interviews has the full transcript. Excerpts after the jump.
On if he knew he had to get out of New York when he heard the Jets were pursuing Tim Tebow:
"I think so, definitely. And as it started picking up steam and gathering more information about it I was trying to get in contact with people at the Jets. And I just didn’t like the whole situation or whatnot, and they were great about it. There was an open line of communication after the trade was going to go through, and trying to help me find a team. And I couldn’t be happier with the result."
On what he was being told as things developed:
"Well I think there was a little confusion on their part, because the people that I talked to in the morning didn’t really know how it was going to go down. They said there was talks . . . whether or not he was going to come in, but his role wasn’t clearly defined to me at that point. They said, ‘Well, we still want you to be the backup,’ and that’s something I would’ve been alright with. And then it kind of changed later. And I talked to Mike Tannenbaum the next day and he said we want Tim to be the backup and we’re gonna try and trade you. They apologized profusely and said that this wasn’t their intent initially. And I understand circumstances change and whatnot, so it was time for me to move on and they did that very willingly and helped me get to a team that I’m very excited to be on."
On if Mark Sanchez should be watching his back:
"I think it’s difficult because every move you make is going to be completely judged. As if you’re not under a big enough microscope already out there in New York — you have him, who is probably the biggest sports media darling out there right now that people look at, and it’s just hard. You saw the effects that it had on Kyle Orton, who is a great quarterback in this league, has won a lot of football games in this league. But the overwhelming cry for Tim Tebow when things start heading south, it can be difficult to deal with at times. And it’s nothing against Tim, because Tim’s a great guy. He’s earned a lot of the success that he’s had in this league. And the type of person that he is, he really is that good of a guy. But the whirlwind of media that follows him can be difficult."