Tim Tebow is heading into practice today knowing that Tom Brady is day to day with a knee injury and even if the starting quarterback plays on Friday in the preseason game against the Buccaneers, his injury and Ryan Mallett's head injury from last week may mean more playing time for the star.
Tebow has finally found a place where he can take a slight backseat when it comes to media attention, as tight end Aaron Hernandez has become the center of the universe in the area after being connected to a murder investigation and after playing in the preseason against the Eagles, Tebow may get another chance in Week 2 against the Buccaneers.
Tebow can make a great impact on the team just because of the way he plays the game and while he didn't get the chance to put up stats last season, that doesn't mean he won't be productive this year. He rushed for over 100 yards and passed for just 39 with the Jets, but they had no idea how to use him effectively and now the Patriots will get their turn.
The first preseason game doesn't mean much to the primary starters and that's why it could be a good game for Tebow to work on some things in the passing game and in other areas. The Patriots have their own issues to work on at the tight end and wide receiver position now that Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez are gone and the team is looking for someone to step into the void with Rob Gronkowski coming back from injury.
Tebow was not used correctly with the Jets despite the team hailing him as the second coming of..something and now he is with their biggest rivals in the Patriots. Tebow got the chance to play in the first preseason game against the Eagles after backup quarterback Ryan Mallett was hurt and while he didn't look great, he did enough on the field that should get coach Bill Belichick to keep him on the 53-man roster heading into the season. Tebow usually brings quite the media circus in whatever he does and while that happened right after he signed, the Patriots have much more on their plate right now, with Hernandez as well as with Rob Gronkowski coming back from multiple surgeries.
Tebow is currently third on the depth chart and he likely will remain there for the majority of the season depending on what happens to Mallett. Tebow is now 26 and he can celebrate plenty in his life even if he is not starting for an NFL team, as he won two championships and a Heisman trophy while at Florida and he also pulled off one of the most memorable postseason upsets in recent memory when he defeated the Steelers while with the Broncos.
Against the Eagles Tebow completed four of 12 passes for 55 yards and he could get more playing time against the Buccaneers on Friday night. Belichick has been coy about what Tebow will do going forward, but he is likely to remain a quarterback rather than change to a tight end like many have speculated.