The End Of Tim Tebow’s Career?

Tim Tebow

According to some reports, people close to Tim Tebow, recently released by the New York Jets after a season warming the bench, are speculating that his NFL career is effectively over:

DENVER (CBS Denver) – The NFL might have seen its last bit of Tebowing.

A new report claims that some of those closest to Tim Tebow have suggested that the unemployed quarterback’s NFL career is likely done. ESPN’s David Fleming reports that members of Tebow’s own camp privately told him that his days in the league are “probably over.”

“He’s not a quarterback,” one scout was said to have told Fleming. “When you look at his run two years ago, when you watch the tape and break it down, he wasn’t really doing anything that impressive. He’s a tough guy, a great leader, a great person. But he isn’t a good enough quarterback to have all the distractions that come with him.”

To date, no NFL teams have shown an interest in signing Tebow, who created a national stir when he led the Broncos to an unlikely playoff win in the 2011 season over the Pittsburgh Steelers. His career derailed, though, after Denver brought in future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, forcing the Broncos to trade him to the Jets. After a disappointing and tumultuous campaign as Mark Sanchez’s backup in New York, Tebow was released by the Jets.

Since then, he’s cleared waivers and the only team that’s shown any significant interest in his services is the Philadelphia Soul — of the Arena Football League.

Of course, as has been suggested numerous times since he left Denver, Tebow could give a shot at another position but, other than a couple plays for the Jets where he played Halfback, he seemingly expressed no interest in doing that. So, unless some NFL team decides to grab him up, or unless he gets picked up by the CFL or something, we may have seen the last of Tim Tebow on a football field.

FILED UNDER: Sports, , , , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. michael reynolds says:

    I blame God.

  2. Scott O says:

    I blame Satan.

  3. superdestroyer says:

    He needs to go to the CFL and learn how to be a quarterback.

  4. Ernieyeball says:

    Matthew 6:5 New International Version

    “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

  5. With Sanchez at the helm, the Jets would have been wise to keep him….

    I wasn’t a big Tebow fan when the Broncos drafted him, but he earned some respect during that playoff run. I’m much happier with Manning, though, so I don’t miss him that much.

    But I do think he can contribute in the league as a quarterback. Watch him get signed mid-season by a team with a decent running game.

  6. Brett says:

    It’s a pity he’s not willing to do anything to play and stay in the game, like with Steve Young (who also had a “run threat” style, and who played the bench for several years before getting to start). He’s not awful, but you basically have to define a system around him, and nobody’s willing to do that, especially if it’s not going to give you a win without having a good defense as with the Broncos.

  7. James Joyner says:

    @Brett: Steve Young started for the USFL’s Los Angeles Galaxy and then with the Tampa Bay Bucs before sitting behind Joe Montana with the 49ers.

  8. anjin-san says:

    @ Brett

    There are basically no grounds for a comparison between Tebow and Young. Young was far more talented, and paid a large amount of dues without complaint. He was also fortunate to have a chance to play for Bill Walsh, and there is simply no one of Walsh’s caliber in the NFL today.

  9. Gromitt Gunn says:

    I hate to sound like a grumpy old man, but this just seems like a perfect example of what happens when Special Snowflake Syndrome meets up with Hard Reality.

  10. Console says:

    Honestly, it seems like Tebow would fit in perfectly with a team willing to use him to run a read option. Kaepernick, RG3, Russell Wilson etc have proven it can be successful in the NFL… I don’t think Tebow is out of place in systems like those. It would be high risk, high reward, but there aren’t enough good QB’s in the nfl for teams to just write off the idea. The league is too conservative sometimes.

  11. Dazedandconfused says:

    For those who think he should have gone in as a TE, or whatever:..

    http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-york-jets/tim-tebow/

    $11.2 million in three years. Check out how long even the best TE’s have to play to make that kind of scratch, and as a “project” TE, he’d of had to sign for diddly to start out. That doesn’t include what he’s made “on the side” by being a QB. His agents did the right thing by him.

    What now? If he wants to continue in football, Arena League is his only shot. Demonstrate he can read defenses and throw consistently accurate mid and short range passes there, and somebody will give him another chance in a few years. However, the big $$ are not going to be part of this picture for a long time, if ever. Canada, BTW, is out. Only 3 downs. Accuracy is everything in that game.

    It might not be a wise decision to risk the long term damage of a long football career for chicken feed.

  12. @James Joyner:

    before sitting behind Joe Montana with the 49ers.

    This is Tebow’s real problem; he’s not good enough to start, and while I think he’d be okay playing backup, he has this very vocal fan bases that is convinced every game he’s not starting is just proof the entire team is secretly conspiring to destroy Christianity. Nobody wants to deal with the drama that follows him around.

    Tebow’s fans, in their desire to turn everything into part of the culture war, ended up making sure they’ll never get what they want. Not that they’re likely to ever notice the irony.

  13. merl says:

    @Ernieyeball: That isn’t in the Conservative Bible.

  14. Ernieyeball says:

    @merl: It’s all Greek to me.

    ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ 6:5 Greek NT: Westcott/Hort with Diacritics
    Καὶ ὅταν προσεύχησθε οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταί. ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν.

  15. James in Silverdale, WA says:

    @Gromitt Gunn: I tend to agree. There are columns of young men waiting to get into the NFL and Tim Tebow frets about what position he shouldn’t play. Something never added up about that. Make room for the kid who would gladly play any position to earn the win.

  16. Ernieyeball says:

    @merl: This link shows at least 20 translations of Matthew 6:5. I suspect there are more. Whoever down voted my first post in these comments is free to help us all and and provide their preferred translation.

    http://biblehub.com/matthew/6-5.htm

  17. anjin-san says:

    One more note on Young. He won over 49ers fans even though he replaced Joe Montana. You actually have to be pretty special to do that. I see nothing special about Teabow. He had a few good games when everyone was watching, and he is an effective self-promoter. Beyond that, is there any there there?

  18. Lynn says:

    @Gromitt Gunn: “Special Snowflake Syndrome ”

    LOL! the things I learn on the internet!