Steve Tensi: The CRAZIEST ROSTER CUT in Denver Broncos HISTORY (1968)

Prior to the start of the 1968 American Football League (AFL) season, the Denver Broncos tried to sneak starting quarterback Steve Tensi onto injured reserve by cutting him and having him go through waivers. Much to the shock of head coach Lou Saban, the Cincinnati Bengals put in a claim. What happened next was truly bizarre, and was something that would never happen in the NFL today. This is the story behind Steve Tensi, the 1968 Broncos, and one of the craziest roster cuts ever
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[@RCVictoryLane]

4:20 a slightly different use of our favorite catchphrase

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

I always wait for that phrase whenever a QB is being talked about.

[@ChristopherM720]

As a longtime Broncos fan, quarterback stories are always fun there. You have Craig Morton being so sick SB week he was having to be fed IV and thus plays like an ICU patient against Doomsday in SB12. You have the bizarre love affair by Red Miller with Matt Robinson (awesome mustache he had). The Elway vs Baltimore, lining up behind the guard, fights with Reeves, drafting of Tommy Maddox. Oh, and the shuttling QBs featuring Shawn Moore & Maddox. Then Brian Griese whose pick ends up causing Terrel Davis ACL tear, Jay Cutler vs Belichek's brat, Tebow's awful throwing but excellent leadership (alas, the NFL is a throwing not a leadership game), Payton's record breaking time, the rotating game of QBs since, a game played w/ a WR at QB due to Covid, Teddy B not trying to tackle on a fumble recovery and now...Russel. QB in Denver is like General Hospital for sports fans.

[@davidcoulson986]

You missed a few other notables. How about the Broncos basically renting Jackie Lee from the Houston Oilers for one year during the AFL days. Or the experiment of Marlin Briscoe as the first modern black QB? Probably no team in pro football history has as colorful of a story for quarterback screwups as the Denver Broncos. Rest in peace, Steve Tensi, who passed away Friday March 15, 2024, at the age of 81 in his adopted hometown of Boone, North Carolina.

[@larrykaminski3269]

@@davidcoulson986 I agree. i had the opportunity to play from 1966 -1973 seasons. i had Speedie, Malvasi, Saban, Smith, then the worst Ralston. II that time I snapped the ball to so many QB's. McComack, Slaughter, Glackin, Tobin Rote, Ramsey, Chobian, Briscoe, Pastrana, Tensi, Liske, and Johnson. Going on 80 and not the sharpest tool in the shed these days, that's all I remember. How do you gain stability with the turnover seen by the fans. The biggest mistake was their impatience with Saban. He took a poorly run front office and operation and made it professional. He built a great practice facility. He was an honest hard nose coach. Unlike Ralston who jumped around the sidelines like a ballerina preaching enthusiasm wins games. Being an alum and 8-year player in the NFL and AFL making all Pro team and All 100 team, Winning requires talent, focus, discipline, toughness, and execution. If you aren't enthused to work and be the best you don't need a cheerleader on the sideline but a knowledgeable coach and staff. Enough said.

[@michaelwebb4135]

As alluded to at the end of the video, the Bengals had a similar situation in terms of unfulfilled potential at QB due to an injury. Greg Cook was said to be someone who was ideal for what Walsh was running schematically and a major threat to bring multiple rings to Cincy.

[@Rockhound6165]

A good one involving a Browns player. The Browns a player named Michael Jackson. He was a pretty decent WR. In the early 90's this player was Michael Jackson one week, the next week he changed his name to Michael Dyson, then changed it back to Jackson the following week. What makes this story funny is that in my fantasy league, this guy had Jackson but when he changed his name to Dyson and had a good week, he dropped Jackson and picked up Dyson...even though they were the same guy. He was lucky I'm an honest man and told the guy running our league that he was the same guy since it cost $10 to add/drop players.

[@stevenbauer4799]

michael 'thriller' jackson...'hee hee...'

[@kevinsealschott1090]

I was at the one game he was Michael Dyson it was the first game of the 93 season Bengals at Browns

[@gluserty]

The late Michael Jackson had an excellent career catch-to-touchdown ratio, and led the league in TD catches in 1996 with 14 (loved that 1996 Ravens O in general, but their D tended to give it away for free).

[@dustinsindledecker154]

Guess he didn't like sharing his name with a certain pop singer and then realize Dyson is a shitty last name and decided to go back to Jackson.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

Wait a minute he died, when?

[@teen_laqueefa]

This was a cool piece Cincinnati Bengals history I did not know

[@TomG1555]

The two 1st round picks the Broncos traded to the Chargers became: 1968 first round pick: #4-Russ Washington, who played 15 years for San Diego and made the Pro Bowl five times ; and 1969 first round pick: #9-Marty Domres, who'd later be traded in 1973 to Baltimore for journeyman TE John Andrews and the Colts' 1973 1st round pick, which was used to pick Heisman Trophy winner WR/KR Johnny Rodgers...who would then spend the first few years of his pro career in the CFL after San Diego wouldn't pay him what he wanted, and finished his career with a couple of unremarkable seasons as a Charger in the late '70s. Getting Washington alone was enough to say that SD won that trade.

[@marcus813]

Thank goodness that the NFL has different rules for IR so this kind of thing wouldn't happen today.

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

I am now going to channel my inner JaguarGator9 and show how two seemingly unrelated events are connected. This how Steve Tensi’s 1968 pre-season injury saved Floyd Little’s career. When Steve Tensi was injured in the pre-season, this allowed other QBs to show if they had what it took. The Broncos during the season tried two who failed to impress, Jim LeClair and John McCormick. However, one who did was Marlin Briscoe, whose career I referenced in a previous post. He would go on to start a game against the Bengals, which would be a first as Briscoe would be the first African-American to be named the starting QB in a major Pro Football game and the Broncos would record their first victory of the season in that start. The Broncos would go back to Tensi as the starter but when it became obvious he unfortunately didn’t have it anymore, Lou Saban named Marlin Briscoe as the regular full-time starting QB, making Briscoe the first African-American to be so named in the history of the AFL or NFL. Not even the AAFC did such a thing. In Briscoe’s first game as the full-time starter, he would set a Broncos rookie record with 4 TD passes in one game and become the first Broncos rookie to throw for over 300 yards in one game. However, during that game, Floyd Little, one in a series of great college RBs that Syracuse seemed to produce as if by magic during the 50s and 60s, was struggling that game so badly that Lou Saban literally fired him on the sidelines in the 2nd quarter. Little was walking in the tunnel when he thought, if he was going to be fired he would at least go on a blaze of glory. Little ran back onto the field. Lou Saban was screaming obscenities at Little, who screamed obscenities back. The Broncos had 12 players on the field so Little literally ordered a rookie RB off the field, who complied. Little told Briscoe that he, Little, had one chance, one play, to redeem himself. He said to Briscoe to throw a deep pass to him. Briscoe asked what okay should he call and what route he, Little, would be running. Little said just find him and throw it to him. So the Broncos line up, snap the ball and Little makes a bee line to the Bills goal line. Little is looking back for the pass but Briscoe, being at most 5’9”, was impossible to see with all the significantly taller linemen, both in offense and defense, surrounding him. Then Little sees the ball leave the mass of bodies and come his way. Despite two defenders on him, Little manages to make a one handed grab and score a TD. The ball traveled 60 yards in the air and the 66 yards the play covered would also be the longest pass completion of Briscoe’s career. When Little got back to the sideline, Lou Saban unfired Little. Little would go on to a HOF career, becoming the first Bronco to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. And that is how Steve Tensi’s pre-season injury saved Floyd Little’s career, for if Steve Tensi had not been injured, Marlin Briscoe would not have been named as a starting QB and there is no guarantee Tensi would have called a play to save Little’s career. Of course, one could also include how if Tensi had not been injured, Briscoe would not have been able to break down a barrier and prove African-Americans could start at QB and win. Briscoe would win twice as a starter, both in games that were close, further proving that African-American QBs were every bit as capable as White QBs when it came to handling the pressure. I forgot to add that John McCormick had a passer rating of 34.8, which is worse than if he spiked the ball on every pass attempt. And Jim LeClair had a passer rating of 42.3, which is barely better than if he spiked the ball on every pass attempt.

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

@Mark Snyder Pollard played RB but he was the first African-American head coach.

[@mayduck1]

Mr Krost great story and you know your AFL-NFL history

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

@@mayduck1 thank you. And don’t get started how Super Bowl 3 was not really the upset it has been made out to be or how the 1963 AFL Championship game between the Chargers and Patriots made it possible for the Jets to sign Namath and thus win Super Bowl 3. There is a host of other AFL history stories I could regale with.

[@Ericsportstechpro]

Thanks for finally doing a broncos history video because they are my favorite team!

[@Rantman9]

Something similar happened to the Steelers a few years later. They tried to slip either Rocky Blier or Franco Harris through waivers, however, the player was picked up by the Patriots. In retaliation, the Steelers picked up a New England player. The two teams agreed to a direct swap to return the players to their original team.

[@ericfitzgerald9214]

@Stephen Wilson Porcupine Tree?

[@DolFan316]

I have literally never heard about this before 😲😲😲

[@andrewpadaetz5549]

If you ever did a "greatest what if" in NFL history, look no further than the QB you mentioned at the end of this video. If Greg Cook doesn't hurt his shoulder in the 3rd game of the 1969 season, the history of the Bengals and the NFL is completely rewritten.

[@MillionaireWizard]

This reminded me of a similar tale in the NHL. Ted Lindsay had just returned to the NHL for an one-off in the 1964-65 NHL season. The Red Wings then devised a plan where he would stay as part of the retired list and then would make a surprise comeback for the 1965-66 NHL season. However, when Maple Leafs over Stafford Smythe caught wind of this, he pressured the NHLPA to turn down the idea and force Lindsay to stay retired.

[@TheSonicsean]

See nowadays players just go on LTIR for the Coyotes instead of retiring

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@TheSonicsean haha sorry ass yotes only exist to be a depository for cap strapped teams bad/ltir contracts. only reeason to explain their continued sad existence.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

And now Ted Lindsay now has a trophy named after him.

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

And Tensi’s injury allowed Marlin Briscoe, who was drafted in the 14th round in 1968 by the Broncos as a CB but managed to negotiate his way into competing for a roster spot as a QB, to become the first African-American QB to be named as the regular full-time starter by an AFL-NFL team. While his completion percentage of 41.5 was not that great, it was better than Tensi’s that season and his 14 TD passes is still a Bronco rookie record, as is the 4 TD passes he threw in one game, against the Bills, whom he would play for as a WR the next three seasons, and become the first Broncos rookie QB to throw for over 300 yards in one game. His 17.1 yards per completion would also be tops in the AFL among all qualifiers that season and is still ranked 28th all-time. He would never start at QB again but did go on to be an all-pro WR. I remember emailing him once about how he never gets the recognition he deserves. He replied and thanked me for my email but he seemed to not have any hard feelings or grudges about the lack of recognition.

[@eugenedenbrook322]

You're right, this is a largely forgotten chapter of history. Briscoe ended up being a pretty good WR; I remember him more as a Dolphin. Imagine if he'd gotten a legit shot to play QB, though?

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

@@eugenedenbrook322 he helped fill a gap for the Dolphins in the 1972 season when Paul Warfield was injured. I’m old enough to remember him as a Bills WR and when he was a QB for the Broncos.

[@mayduck1]

Johnathan Krost good for e mailing Briscoe and also bringing up Briscoe's role Pro Football history. Lou Saban is great on NFL films but was not a good coach even though he was the last Buffalo Bills Coach to win a league championship in the AFL in 1964 and 1965.

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

@@mayduck1 Saban did have mixed success as both a college and Pro head coach. He was also a member of the Browns as LB from 1946-49, making all AAFC in 1948. He was also the team captain from mid-46-49.

[@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeiture]

@Mark Snyder he was inducted in 2010.

[@JonPITBZN]

Take backs is a real thing! In baseball, anyway. They have "revocable waivers," where if a player gets claimed, the team has 48 hours to decide if they will take him off waivers, trade him to the team that claimed him, or just let him go.

[@richardadams4928]

Here's a suggestion for a video: How about the time the Rams waived their backup QB, he got claimed by the Falcons, then the Rams waived their third-string QB immediately afterwards, only to see the Falcons also claim him, leaving the Rams with only one QB on the entire roster? ISTR it was Hugh Millen and Steve Dils that were pilfered.

[@lsmftymf]

Forcing the Rams to sign...ugh...Mark Herrmann. Just read about it in an online Los Angeles Times article.

[@richardadams4928]

@@lsmftymf I was LMFAO at the time (being a Falcons fan....) If at first you don't succeed, right? 🤪😆

[@richardadams4928]

@@lsmftymf And they were starting Jim Everett, who probably threw off his back foot more than any other starting QB I ever saw....

[@richardadams4928]

It also led to possibly the worst NFL QB showdown I can recall: Millen of the Falcons facing off against Cowboys legend ... Babe Laufenberg. Someone pass the Pepto-Bismol, 'cuz that was downright sickening.

[@nasetvideos]

Excellent video--Great history and context

[@DolFan316]

What, the Broncos couldn't have just cut any of the other players from the 3-11 '67 team? SMH.

[@SgtScorpious]

68 Broncos, wow, long before any of my family were fans 😅

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 will remind everyone (you’re late to the party PAL!) you made videos about the strange circumstances under which Giants Quarterback Dick Shiner (your favorite name!) and Buccaneers DB Curtis Jordan were placed on waivers.

[@marcdaley]

That's the first time I have heard of any of the quarterbacks that steered the dinghy that was the 1966 Broncos.

[@DolFan316]

Liked because you used the word dinghy 😊

[@harpercole5321]

Chargers did the same thing with Jack Kemp a few years earlier (but without the takeback part).

[@paulmicheldenverco1]

Denver has a notorious history of over paying and under pricing players in trades.

[@scottybbadd]

If AFL/NFL waivers were like MLB waivers they could've pulled him back and forced a trade.

[@DolFan316]

Imagine pro football rosters being only 40 players when today 53 doesn't seem to be nearly enough. No wonder concussions and anything short of a broken bone (and sometimes not even that) were viewed with the attitude of, "You're not hurt! get back in there!" The again back then there weren't nearly as many ligament and tendon injuries either.

[@Rockhound6165]

And there was artificial turf to contend with.

[@DolFan316]

This really does seem like something Chris Grier would do. And if he did I guarantee you he wouldn't be fired.

[@NickJaime]

Well, technically the Vikings did something like this in the draft. They took so long that the team ahead took their player and it happened again like two years later. They didn't get a do-over lol.

[@paulmicheldenverco1]

Tensi stank and one of the guys SD g0t was Russ Washington, who went to 5 PB's. 1f the Broncos didn't want Washington there was Haven Moses, Larry Csonka, Greg Landry, Tim Rossovich, Forrest Blue a C [4 PB's, 3 APros], and a whole bevy of players having careers going into the mid seventies and beyond. 1n '69 the could've had Bill Stanfill [5 PB's, 1AP, 2SB wins], Fred Dryer, Gene Washington [4 PB's, 2 AP], HoF S Roger Wehrli [7 PB's, 3 AP], or any number of solid well known players with careers to the mid 70's and beyond.

[@DolFan316]

SO...this was the '60s AFL equivalent of a deleted tweet? Got it.

[@jaysaban139]

Great video, but so much missing context to the story. First, was the Broncos were not financially sound during this time period and were close a year earlier to moving to Birmingham. The merger was placing financial stress on teams that didn't have 50K seats which Bears Stadium didn't have at the time. Hiding injured players on waivers was a known practice in the AFL. The 2-time AFL Champion QB Jack Kemp was acquired by waivers in 1962 by the Bills following a finger injury for $100. The AFL was truly a Wild West league that found a way to survive. Keep up the great work.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

The Broncos were already past the worst of their money woes by 1968

[@jaysaban139]

@@MrBlazemaster525 Trust me, they were not. Remember there wasn't a salary cap nor floor in 1968.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

@@jaysaban139 yes there wasn't, but your saying they were still in the shit money-wise in '68 is patently false

[@jaysaban139]

@@MrBlazemaster525 I am not going to argue facts when trying to add context to a very well done video. I am just pointing out the differences in league rules in 60s and today. Plus when sold later this year, the Broncos ownership situation will be night and day compared to the AFL days.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

@@jaysaban139 lol the Broncos' supposed financial issues do not put any extra context on the Steve Tenzi story so sit down and learn what context actually means

[@gothard5]

So, if the waiver claim had gone through and the Bengals had actually gotten Tensi, would they have gotten Kenny Anderson? I say yes because Tensi retired in 1970.

[@RCVictoryLane]

That is assuming history plays out virtually the same way and the Bengals have the same or a similar draft position that year

[@christopherengel7436]

"Before I talk about the incident in question"...take a look at some more sweet ass AFL classic uniforms. Please Denver please ditch that ridiculous gear you're wearing and go back to the classic "Orange Crush" look. The Bronco inside the D, the occasional orange pants, the Orange jerseys. That's the Broncos we know & respect. Also, thank goodness for take backs right?

[@TheSonicsean]

Hopefully with the removal of the one shell rule they'll at least bring those back for throwbacks

[@stevenbauer4799]

I like it too. the looked they got whooped in in many s b's too.

[@gothard5]

@@TheSonicsean one shell rule?

[@DolFan316]

I can tell you for a fact that even when they first changed unis and were winning Super Bowls people hated them. The logo was mockingly referred to as a "cyber horse".

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@DolFan316 haha that early bronco logo was the worst. it looked ree-tarded.

[@DolFan316]

Fun fact: the first win in Dolphins history was over the Broncos.

[@kevinsealschott1090]

As was the Bengals Tensi went to Elder HS in Cincinnati

[@dustinsindledecker154]

That is a very fun fact, I had fun learning that

[@cdprince768]

It's kind of like when you break up with your girlfriend but then lure her back when she starts dating another guy. A month later you're calling up the Bengals and begging them to take her off your hands.

[@jamescook6564]

This situation will not happen today. There would be a revolt.

[@gothard5]

Lou Saban? Any relation to Nick Saban?

[@DolFan316]

The word last time I checked is that they might be second cousins maybe, but nobody's really sure.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

I just read on Wikipedia that they are distant cousins.

[@astros7242]

Worst roster management? Hmm, the Broncos do have a history of doing that. How about deciding to pick Ted Gregory in 1988 with their first round pick? This was a guy who they never saw in person, and if I remember right is the only first round pick to ever not even play in a pre-season game for the team who drafted him. The Broncos upon meeting him at first didn’t believe he was who he said he was (yes their first round pick!) and a guy who had already blown out his knee in college. The Broncos immediately traded him for another first round bust. To top it all off this is 1988, the NFL is already quite popular and has a lot of money involved. The Broncos were actually a decent team during the late 80s appearing in 3 SBs, and they make this their first round pick 😂

[@scottybbadd]

Lou Saban wasn't exactly Nick Saban.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

Well he had a better pro coaching career than nick.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

The Broncos should just bring back the old helmets, I like them better than their current helmets.

[@Joseph-cu8lg]

It's not widely known how roster coaching and general situation play in who is a great all time QB. Greg Cook, according to Bill Walsh could've been the best ever if not for injury.Bellicheck said sort of the same about Bert Jones. Chad Pennington could've been a HOFer except repeated injury Look at Archie Manning on the Aints. Steve Young got his chance finally in the best team, but what about Steve DeBetg, Matt Cavanaugh, Don Strock? Jim Plunkett and Doug Williams finally found a good team and went all the way. I think Jake Locker and David Carr could've revived careers ala Ryan Tannehill.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

When did Floyd little play for the Broncos if anyone knows.

[@lsmftymf]

1967 to 1975.

[@dustinsindledecker154]

Thank you for that I knew he played during some part of the 70's just didn't know specifics.

[@stevenbauer4799]

did saban melt down, berate him, then quit donkeys in typical saban fashion because of that? saban = perpetual quitter who could make a h s kid cry. Dude walked out on like 20 different teams.

[@DolFan316]

It seems like he was a millennial born 70 years too early for sure.

[@stevenbauer4799]

@@DolFan316 yep he was. lou 'temper temper' saban.