Tim Tebow Cut From Jets, Uncertain Future In NFL

Tim Tebow was released by the Jets on Monday, the day when the players on the NFL team were due to report to Florham Park, N.J., for workouts. Tebow was already in his workout gear when he was summoned to the office of Jets General Manager John Idzik to hear the news.

“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Coach Rex Ryan told ESPN. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward.”

Tebow came to the Jets from the Broncos last year, after leading the Denver team to a playoff win in their 2011 season. The 2012 acquisition cost the Jets a fourth-round draft pick, $1.5 million in salary and $2.5 million paid to the Broncos. When the New York franchise officially signed the polarizing quarterback, they heralded it with a press conference of 200 members of the media.

The initial announcement sparked lively debate, as Sanchez loyalists were outraged at the undermining of the team's standing QB while Tebow fans avowed that the spirited sensation could make a worthy addition to the Jets. At the end of his time with the Jets, Tebow had only participated in 72 offensive snaps. And after his unimpressive season, the Jets tried and ultimately failed to secure a trade partner for him.

Tebow's prospects in the NFL are not what they once were. In college he led Florida to two national championships and rightfully earned a Heisman Trophy. But Tebow's strengths in the college game haven't managed to translate all that well in professional football. Since entering the NFL, Tebow holds the worst completion percentage (47.9%), and is the first QB since Akili Smith in the 1999-01 season to have a completion percentage below 48%.

If Tebow was willing to switch positions to either tight end or halfback, he might have a better chance of getting picked up by an NFL squad. In fact, he might even have a hard time getting time in the Candian Football League as a QB, according to Montreal Alouettes general manager Jim Popp. "These questions about throwing — our field is wider, bigger and there are more holes. But the misconception about the CFL is it's much easier for a quarterback," he told USA Today. "That's not necessarily true. If you can't make all the throws, you can't win consistently in the CFL, either.

"So there are still unanswered questions," he continued. "He's an intriguing person, but can he play in Canada?"

The Jets took West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith in the second round of the NFL draft.

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