Following the 2011 NFL season, the New York Jets brass talked about bringing in competition for Mark Sanchez, who has been less than stellar in his brief NFL career. They flirted with Peyton Manning in free agency but that only resulted in a contract extension for Sanchez (which I still don't understand). Eventually, they brought in Drew Stanton as Sanchez's backup.
And now the latest move at quarterback for the Jets is trading for Tim Tebow. The team sent a fourth round pick to the Broncos, and swapped a sixth and seventh round pick, for the rights to Tebow.
If you're wondering why, join the crowd. I can't figure out how Tebow fits with the Jets. Is he competing for the starting job? Backup? Only in on special packages?
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He's probably not a better quarterback than Sanchez, although Tebow does offer a unique skill set. The problem is that his unique skill set can't thrive in a traditional NFL offense so if the Jets wanted to take advantage of his skills they would have to drastically change their offense, which just doesn't happen from play-to-play in the NFL.
Then you look at his contract, which is manageable in 2012. But in 2013 his base salary jumps over $6 million and then over $7 million in 2014. That's not money you pay to a backup quarterback.
I'm not bashing Tebow. He can help you win games, as we saw with the Broncos last season. But I think he's the type of player where you have to go "all in" in order to succeed. You have to tweak your offense to fit him. He's not a traditional backup quarterback.
I just don't understand the motivation here from the Jets.
For more reactions on the Tebow trade, stay tuned to the SB Nation blog Gang Green Nation, as well as our ongoing StoryStream.