Tim Tebow is still a free agent and while he isn't getting job offers from Glenn Beck on the radio of getting advice from Tony Dungy or from fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes he is presumably working out and trying to get better as he looks for an NFL team and while no one seems interested now, that could change down the line.
Tebow is in this situation technically because he was traded to the Jets from the Denver Broncos and since that happened, he ended up getting the short end of the straw in New York behind Mark Sanchez and since the team was completely inept at using him, he was cut loose. But what if the Jets trade never happened and he went to the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2011 season instead, as it was reported he almost did? Tebow may have had the chance to start over Blaine Gabbert and while no one knows, could the team have been better than their 2-14 record?
Gabbert showed some nice flashes during the season, but eventually he was hurt and Chad Henne stepped in and played admirably and led the team to one win against the Titans while Gabbert was responsible for the other win earlier in the season against the Colts. Even if the Jaguars traded for Tebow and still wanted Gabbert to start, they would have been in a fine position, as he got hurt and Tebow would have been able to step in and start as the backup with no drama. When the Jets brought Tebow in for the trade it was done with great fanfare, but he ended up just rushing for 102 yards and passing for 39 all season.
When Tebow was in Denver he never could have imagined what happened, as he took a 1-4 team to the playoffs and win against the Steelers, likely making him feel like he was going to start the next season. But after Peyton Manning became available for the Broncos, there was no chance that John Elway wasn't going to try and sign him. The Jets saw Tebow defeat them the season he started in Denver, so they knew what he could do, but instead of letting him run wild they held him back and turned him into another one of their scapegoats for an awful season.
The Jets picked Dee Milliner and Sheldon Richardson in the draft before releasing Tebow and now the team says they are having an open quarterback competition. Many felt that Revis should not have been traded, but like other well-run organizations, the Jets put money into a quarterback that can't win and turns the ball over (Mark Sanchez) and wide receivers that are troublemakers and fumble the ball allowing opponents to score touchdowns because he was hurt and didn't care (Santonio Holmes) rather than paying Revis, likely the most talented player to ever wear a Jets uniform, the money that he wanted.
Tebow rushed for just 102 yards and passed for 39 with zero touchdowns last season and he was passed over for Greg McElroy when Sanchez was benched and it still is very unclear why the Jets traded for him at all. Woody Johnson said it was a football decision, but the team also said last year that they wouldn't trade Revis and have been known to lie to the media, because what they say and what they do rarely matchup, including when they said Tebow would be a Wildcat option in the offense.
The Jaguars went just 2-14 so it's obvious that quarterback isn't the only issue, but if Tebow started all 16 games for the team, there is a good chance they would have improved that record. Gabbert had a 53 yards passing game during the season and while Tebow didn't put up amazing numbers as a starter, he was able to win games and he proved he could handle pressure by leading the Broncos on a six game winning streak and a playoffs victory. While only an alternate universe could tell us if Tebow would have been better as a Jaguar, the speculation is always fun to look at.
