The NFL preseason is now officially over after all 32 teams were in action on Thursday night with 16 games being played around the league and now the next important date is Saturday, as all rosters must be cut down to 53 players from 75 by 6 pm and a number of notable names could be on the bubble, including Tim Tebow, Tyler Wilson, Ryan Nassib and B.J. Daniels.
The Patriots and the New York Giants played in a Super Bowl rematch on Thursday night and Tim Tebow got a chance to play in the final preseason game after not getting any snaps in the third week against the Detroit Lions, which was a bad 40-9 loss. Tebow along with Ryan Nassib, Tyler Wilson and BJ Daniels all could be on the chopping block depending on how teams want to handle their rosters.
The 49ers have Colt McCoy and like Daniels, while Nassib was a fourth round pick, but he hasn't shown much in the preseason and with all the Giants injuries, they may not be able to afford to hold three quarterbacks. The Raiders have big choices to make as well, since Terrelle Pryor is likely staying and the team also likes undrafted rookie Matt McGloin.
Tebow knew that he could get some significant playing time after sitting out the game against Detroit and with 53-man roster cuts looming, he had to make some sort of impression on Bill Belichick and the coaching staff. Heading into the game he did not look all that impressive through two preseason contests and last season a similar situation played out with Brian Hoyer, as he did not play in the third preseason game and was eventually cut during the cut downs from 75 to 53 players, with the Patriots opting to keep Ryan Mallett as the backup.
Tebow finished the game going 6-for-11 with 91 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while also rushing for 30 yards, but he also was sacked four times. Before throwing a touchdown, boos started raining down from the crowd after a few overthrows, including one down the field on tight end Jake Ballard that looked like it would be a huge gain for the Patriots. Mallett spoke about the fans booing and then watching Tebow throw a touchdown, saying that shows what type of player he is and how much character he has.
Tebow's best play of the night was his touchdown pass to Quentin Sims on a third and 10 play that went for 52-yards and it came after a nice, strong throw to Sims that was able to get past rookie safety Cooper Taylor and Tebow was pumped up after the play. Prior to the last preseason game, Tebow had only played 31 snaps in the first two games against the Eagles and Bucs and then against the Lions in Week 3, which is usually considered the most important game, he didn't get the chance. Against Tebow's chances is the fact that the Patriots have kept two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster three times over the past four seasons, according to ESPN.com.
