Broncos fans petition for '#TebowTime'

— -- It was bound to happen sometime.

With the defending Super Bowl champion Broncos in need of a starting quarterback and former Denver signal-caller Tim Tebow in need of an NFL job, it was only a matter of time before fans in the Mile High City started a petition to bring Tebow back.

The online petition, which was started on Change.org two months ago just before Peyton Manning's official retirement, had just less than 3,500 supporters as of early Thursday afternoon.

Tebow hasn't played a down in the NFL since 2012 but was in training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles last season before being cut in September. He was soon picked up as an analyst with ESPN on the SEC Network.

"Coach Gary Kubiak's offense would thrive with Tebow under center," the petition reads. "He and the legendary John Elway can make this happen. We dont (sic) need a subpar throwaway from some other team, we need an original Bronco who has the fire, desire, and love of the game to play as a Bronco again! As a bonus the Bronco fans would be ecstatic! He just wins, we all know this! #TebowTime"

The 28-year-old Tebow had his best season with the Broncos in 2011 (after fans demanded the team give him the starting job), leading an underdog 8-8 team to the playoffs and upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round.

Since then, he's played in just 12 games (with the New York Jets in 2012) and was cut by both the New England Patriots (2013) and Eagles after training camp stints.

The Broncos, meanwhile, have a hole at the quarterback spot after Manning retired and Brock Osweiler signed with the Houston Texans. Denver signed Mark Sanchez and has flirted with trading for Colin Kaepernick but is anything but settled at the quarterback spot.

It's unlikely they'll give Tebow another shot, but that's not stopping a rabid fan base from wanting to relive the glory days of #TebowTime.