Just 14 months after trading with the Denver Broncos to acquire Tim Tebow, he has been cut from the New York Jets.
Its safe to say that Tebow’s year with Rex Ryan and company didn’t go as planned. In pre-season there was great hope that Tebow would play QB for the Jets in Wildcat and short yardage packages, would be part of the Jets special teams units, and might even line up as a tight end or wide receiver at times. Word was that offensive co-ordinator Tony Sparano had a plan for Tebow and would best utilize his unique talents.
It didn’t work that way. Instead, the circus went to New York and the entire Jets team suffered as a result. Mark Sanchez, playing under the constant glare of reporters, and with huge questions from fans as to when it was “Tebow Time”, had the worst statistical season of his career, and had a hilarious play that will forever be known on blooper reels as the BUTT FUMBLE. The Jets offence was amongst the worst statistically in the NFL and the team finished the season 6-10 and well out of the playoff race.
So while the Tim Tebow circus has ended its run on Broadway, the New York Jets used their 2nd round pick on on West Virginia QB Geno Smith. For Jets haters the good news is that a whole new circus is beginning in New York.
The question know becomes what is next for Tim Tebow? Will another NFL team take a shot at a quarterback with great running skills, but questionable accuracy and an inefficient throwing motion? Who would that be? A plethora of teams including the Jacksonville Jaguars (who many saw as a likely suitor for Tebow), Seattle Seahawks, San Franscisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Philadelphia Eagles have already publicly stated that they have no interest in the QB. The biggest potential option now is the Miami Dolphins, as Tebow’s popularity in South Florida may be leveraged to sway voters in a referendum on publicly funded improvements to the Dolphins’ home at Sun Life Stadium.
The other option at this point is the CFL. A place where players like Warren Moon, Joe Theismann, Jeff Garcia, and Doug Flutie all honed their craft before returning to the NFL. Tebow’s CFL rights are owned by the Montreal Alouettes, however the team still has the greatest quarterback (statistically) in CFL history in Anthony Calvillo entrenched as a starter. The Als have stated they are interested in Tebow, but that he’d compete for a backup role.
So that leaves us with quite a lot of questions, but not a lot of answers right now.
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