Is This the End of Tebow's NFL Career?

Sep 3, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow (11) drops back to pass against the New York Jets during the second quarter of a preseason game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Winning. Winning covers all. Well, almost all. Winning covers all except Tim Tebow’s numbers. As a staunch supporter of Tebow, the only number I ever pay attention to is one. You can come at me with your silly completion percentages, sacks taken and seconds in his hour long wind up. I’ll only respond with my pointed finger to the sky in Tebow-like fashion, reminding you that the only number I am concerned with is one.

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Tim Tebow took over the quarterback position of a 2011 Denver Broncos team with a ONE and four record. He then went on to lead that team, with no major roster adjustments, to a 7-4 record and an 8-8 finish to win the AFC West crown. We all know what happened next. He then went on to win (yes, only ONE) his first round playoff game against the number ONE pass ranked defense, with ONE pass, with ONE play, in the first overtime playoff game of its kind. I’ll never forget that moment. I ran around the house like someone who had just witnessed a girl slap another girl in the Citgo parking lot on youtube. You can look that up if you’d like. The reaction is perfect for how I acted, but we don’t want to condone or encourage slapping. I thought through divine intervention maybe, just maybe, Tebow had not only won the playoff game…but maybe he won next year’s starting competition.

Tebow’s Pass to Demaryius Thomas to win the 2011 AFC Wild Card game.

I was so wrong. How could the Broncos be so desperate that they give almost 20 million dollars to a quarterback over 35 years old coming off neck surgery? Even if it was Peyton Manning! How in the world could they not develop and stick with Tebow after such an amazing turnaround?!? A better question really is, how in the world did the Broncos go 7-4 and win a playoff game with Tebow at quarterback? According to Tebow’s stat line taken from footballdb.com, he finished the 2011 season with a 46.5 completion percentage, 12 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 72.9. My man barely got over 1700 yards through the air and took 33 sacks behind a dominant offensive line, but somehow his team went 7-4 and won a playoff game. You put up those numbers on 31 other NFL teams and you are lucky to go 4-7.

That settles the question of whether or not he should be a starter, ok? I get it. I won’t argue with those numbers. We have since learned, that even with Peyton Manning throwing ducks like he’s in a Papa John’s commercial, the Broncos can coast to a 12-4 season without breaking a sweat.

The real question is, why does Ryan Lindley have a job and Tim Tebow doesn’t? How does Arizona go through 17 quarterbacks in one season, and Tim Tebow doesn’t even get a work out? How does Matt Barkley get traded, and Tim Tebow gets dropped? How did the Jets let him go to replace him with Geno Smith and The Amish Rifle Ryan Fitzpatrick? Tim Tebow gives a team what these guys can’t, and that is a chance. His leadership, attitude, and

Tebow has returned to his job as an SEC analyst after being cut by the Eagles. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

athletic ability make up for his shortcomings in the traditional quarterback statistics and he can give the team a chance to win. You’re not winning anything with Matt Barkley or Ryan Lindley if your starter gets hurt, so why in the world isn’t Tebow in the league?

Attention. That can be the only answer. It’s not because he is a Christian that proclaims his faith. He is not on an NFL roster for the same reason that Michael Sam isn’t on a NFL roster. Neither of these men are in the league because their talent level relegates them to a back up role. Due to their stances on issues outside of football, they attract a crowd like no other back up. More people can name every team Tim Tebow has played for than can name the current Houston Texans starting quarterback. Commanding that much attention demands you have the talent to match it. If you don’t have the talent to match the crowd you bring, then it isn’t worth the trouble in the minds of team execs and coaching staffs.

Should Tim Tebow be on an NFL roster as a back up on a strong team? Absolutely. Will he ever play again in the NFL? Unfortunately, absolutely not. I pray that I am wrong because Tim Tebow has earned and deserves a spot on a NFL team’s 53-man roster.

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Is This the End of Tebow’s NFL Career?

By Ben Richardson | Sep 11, 2015

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