It's not often that getting cut can be seen as a good thing, but in this case -- it is! The New York Jets have finally freed Tim Tebow from his shackles at Jets Atlantic Health & Training Center, ending one of the most bizarre NFL hostage crisis in memory.
A little over a year ago, Tebow came to New York with much fanfare thanks to the Woody Johnson machine that brought him to New York in a trade with the Denver Broncos. Whether it was Johnson or then-GM Mike Tannenbaum, Tebow was promised the opportunity to compete with Mark Sanchez for the starting job -- that of course never happened.
Instead coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano kept Tebow glued to the bench primarily the entire season. The only moments Tebow came in was on special teams as a punt protector -- a job that he couldn't handle, as he was responsible for two punts being blocked for touchdowns, and he was seldom used in the so-called "Wild-Cat" packages.
Overall it was a gigantic failure for the entire organization. The turning point in the Tebow saga came late in the season when Ryan decided to deactivate Tebow before the Jets were to play the Arizona Cardinals. That week, Sanchez was putrid against the equally putrid Cardinals, throwing a pair of interceptions as New York trailed 6-0. With Tebow deactivated, Ryan had no problem inserting Greg McElory into the line-up. McElroy led the Jets to a 7-6 victory that day.
What stood out in that game was the fact there were manifold opportunities for Ryan to remove Sanchez from a game during the course of the season and insert Tebow into the line-up, but he never did. He let Tebow rot.
The Jets did Tebow a great disservice -- they totally destroyed his value around the league, as there are no NFL teams interested in bringing him aboard. He could have easily landed in the Arena Football League with Orlando back in February, but the Jets refused to give him his outright release. The AFL season is now well underway, and Tebow would be coming in having to learn a new playbook and league at the wrong time.
The only option for him now is to go to Canada and play in the CFL. Their season doesn't start until early June -- so he has some time to learn a new playbook.
Regardless, Tebow should be ecstatic that he is finally free from the misery that is the New York Jets. The Jets, as an organization should be ashamed with the way they handled his situation from the beginning.
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