Tim Tebow was one of the biggest disappointments in a season full of them for the New York Jets and his future with the team is in question.
Many in the media and around football have asked questions to the Jets about why Tebow was brought in and rumored that it was the decision of owner Woody Johnson to help sell tickets and win headlines. But according to ESPNNewYork.com, that story may not be totally accurate.
Rich Cimini writes on ESPN that the deal was not the "brainchild" of Johnson according to one general manager candidate that the team interviewed before hiring John Idzik. Former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist interviewed for the job nearly two weeks ago and said that Johnson told him that the trade for Tebow was not his idea.
According to ESPN, Sundquist said it was his impression that the trade was "forced" on Johnson and team president Neil Glat, who also participated in the interview. Cimini speculates that the meaning of Sundquist's comments put the blame of the Tebow deal on former GM Mike Tannenbaum, who was fired following the 2012 season.
Johnson also said, according to Sundquist, that he eventually "jumped on board" with the Tebow idea, deferring to his football people. "They realized it was divisive and hard on the locker room, and they wanted an exit strategy," Sundquist told ESPNNewYork.com.
The Jets hired Idzik last week after a stint with the Seattle Seahawks and will introduce him at a press conference later in the week. Idzik is known as a "cap-hawk" and is very knowledgeable with the business side of things, which could help if they want to try to trade Tebow. The team also has to deal with Mark Sanchez, who threw 18 interceptions this season and will be a big cap hit if he is cut.
Tebow has quickly gone from one of the most talked-about players in the NFL into an afterthought. This season he played in only 77 offensive played and gained 102 rushing yards on 32 carries. He made only eight pass attempts and completed six of them for 39 yards.
Before the season began, head coach Rex Ryan and coordinator Tony Sparano said they planned to use Tebow as a change-of-pace quarterback for Sanchez and also in wildcat formations to try and throw off the opposing defense. Neither of those ideas worked out and Tebow took part in only nine Wildcat rushes all season.
Tebow busted on to the NFL scene as a rookie in 2010 after signing a five-year contract with the Denver Broncos, who drafted him in the first round. He started his first NFL game on Dec. 19, 2010, scoring on a 40-yard touchdown run and throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass. Tebow became the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for a touchdown of 30 or more yards and run for a touchdown of 40 or more yards in the same game.
The following year in 2011, Tebow began the season as the backup to Kyle Orton, but supplanted him as the starting quarterback in week six against the Miami Dolphins. Tebow led Denver from a 15-0 deficit in the last three minutes to win the game, 18-15, in overtime. Denver became the first team in NFL history to win a game after being down by at least 15 points with three minutes to play in a game.
He started the rest of the season for the Broncos and led them to the playoffs where they faced off against the Steelers in the first round. He hit wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime for an 80-yard touchdown to seal his first career playoff win. But the off season took some interesting turns for Tebow. After the Denver Broncos announced they were going to sign free agent Peyton Manning, they traded Tebow to the New York Jets.
That deal now appears to have been forced upon Johnson and puts the Jets in a tough situation with a quarterback they don't want and can't use. It is a big change of tune from mid-season, when Johnson said to MSNBC that Tebow would remain with the team for "three years".
"Are we going to keep Tebow? Absolutely," Johnson said at the time.. "He'll be with us for three years... I think he's going to be a real valuable asset in terms of helping us win games."
It also might be harder for the Jets to get rid of him than they think. The Jaguars appeared to be a willing trade partner since Tebow is from the area, but their new GM quashed that quickly.
"I can't imagine a scenario in which he'll be a Jacksonville Jaguar -- even if he's released," new Jaguars GM David Caldwell said at his introductory news conference earlier this month.
Other possibilities include the Arizona Cardinals, who have three ineffective quarterbacks, as well as the Chicago Bears, who hired a new head coach in Marc Trestman that has connections to Tebow. Trestman worked with Tebow prior to the NFL draft and had great praise for him following those workouts.
According to USA Today: In Canada's National Post, Trestman compared Tebow to Trestman's staggeringly effective QB for the Montreal Alouettes, Anthony Calvillo:
"We have a quarterback who has a long delivery and he's one of the greatest quarterbacks and will finish as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time north or south of the border so he does it with a motion very similar to what Tim Tebow used in college. When you're an accurate passer and you have the intangibles that go along with that you can figure it out and make it work and whether Tim changed his motion or not I believed he would figure it out and I don't have any doubt that he'll be very, very successful," Trestman said.
The Eagles and new head coach Chip Kelly could also be an option, but it isn't one of the top landing spots for Tebow.
"I believe everything happens for a reason. I don't know what my future holds, but I know who holds my future and in that there is a lot of peace and a lot of comfort," Tebow said in an interview with Fox Business Network. "I don't have any regrets."
Making the situation even more awkward for Tebow, former Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff said the team was a "mess" in handling the quarterback and never gave him a chance to succeed.
"It was a mess," Westhoff said of the Tebow situation, according to ESPNNewYork.com. "It was an absolute mess. You can say whatever else you want, it was really a mess. I was very, very disappointed. There are things that Tim Tebow as an NFL quarterback, he's very limited in some things. If you throw him in the middle of a drop-back passing offense, he will look very, very average at best. But if you incorporate him in different facets of your offense, I think he can be a factor. That's what I thought we were going to do, but we never did it."
The Jets were one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL and ranked 30th in passing with 180 yards per game, while scoring just 17 points per game, ranked 28th in the league.