A year ago, Tim Tebow was a playoff-winning quarterback.
Sunday, he was again reduced to a fan with a good seat, as his little-used year with the Jets ended in familiar fashion.
He took one snap in Sunday’s finale, handed off to Joe McKnight, and then began a polite campaign for a real chance to start somewhere.
Asked whether he thought that chance would come with the Jets, he played nice.
“I’m not sure,” Tebow said, via Mike Vorkunov of the Newark Star-Ledger. “That’s something we’ll have to look at and take a few days and sort it all out.”
Jets coach Rex Ryan was equally illuminating, saying “Tim’s under contract. So we’ll see what happens.”
It’s obvious Ryan never wanted him, and will likely feel a great relief at not having to deal with the Tebow distraction continued to build.
Even as Mark Sanchez floundered, and the skipped him in favor of Greg McElroy, it was clear Tebow wasn’t going to see the field unless it was an emergency. And maybe not then.
“I’m trying to win the game and that’s it,” Ryan said. “If I thought Tebow would have helped us win the game playing quarterback or defensive tackle, I would have played him.”
So obviously, he didn’t.
It appears the Jaguars are willing to, once they find a general manager who is willing to acquire him (which could limit their pool of candidates to those willing to go along with the owner’s apparent desire to bring the hometown hero back).
The Broncos proved last year that the Tebow experiment can be made to work, in a strictly controlled environment. Namely, with an excellent coach and a good supporting cast, both of which are tailored to his particular skill set.
The Jaguars, as presently constructed, can’t offer that.
But it seems like they’re willing to try, and it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to realize Tebow will welcome the opportunity, even if it’s not a good one.