After months and months of speculation on what his future would hold, and less than six weeks after officially being released by the New York Jets, Tim Tebow has found a new NFL home, as the former Florida Gators star quarterback has signed with the New England Patriots.
The move is the latest in a series of “rehabilitation” signings by the New England Patriots who have proven over the years that another NFL team’s trash, is their treasure. Now of course most of those reclamation projects have been left on the scrap heap for being poor players off the field, for having legal issues, or for being a locker room problem, and Tim Tebow is as squeaky clean cut as they come. However, there are still challenges inherent to signing Tebow as seen by his exits from Denver, and New York; as well as the lukewarm interest that has surrounded the free agent quarterback in recent weeks. The hype and the hoopla that surrounds Tebow has far outdone the contributions he has made on the field over the years
However, New England may just be the best place for Tim Tebow. In Denver, when Kyle Orton struggled, the fan base forced the team to put in Tebow as the starting QB. In New York, the controversy between Tebow and Mark Sanchez created an atmosphere that tore the team apart from the inside. However in New England, there will likely be very few people calling for him to start at QB. As long as Tom Brady is healthy Tebow can settle into a role further down the depth chart and be used for gimmick plays and special teams with few calling for him to be used more often. The creativity of the Patriots coaching staff, lead by Bill Belichick, just might be the team that can finally find a way to use Tebow successfully.
It is important to remember that Josh McDaniels, the current Patriots offensive co-ordinator was the head coach of the Denver Broncos when they drafted Tim Tebow 25th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. While Tebow was a backup under McDaniels, he had faith that he could take the physically talented, yet flawed college star and develop him into an NFL Quarterback. McDaniels was fired and replaced by John Fox before he ever had the chance to finish his project. It now appears that McDaniels and Tebow will both get a second chance.
After demolishing the Broncos 45-10 in the 2011 AFC Divisional Playoffs (in January 2012), the The Patriots are also familiar with Tebows limitations. They held him to just 9/26 passing for 136 yards in the game. The Patriots also sacked Tebow five times; he also sacked five times and held to just 13 yards rushing in the game.
While many are shocked by the move, the signs have been apparent in recent weeks. Last week Belichick came out of nowhere to mention to reporters that he did not hate Tim Tebow, and that reports of issues between him and Tebow have been greatly exaggerated by the media. That was followed by the Patriots official website putting up a poll for fans asking if New England signing Tebow was a good idea. In hindsight, these two events seem to be calculated PR moves to deal with what no doubt would be a high profile and controversial signing.
You can follow @RoryHarbaughNFL on twitter for all your NFL needs, and the follow the site @lastwordonsport while you are at it
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? If so, check out our “Join Our Team” page to find out how.
photo credit: MattBritt00 via photopin cc
