When free agent quarterback Drew Stanton signed with the Jets, he was penciled in as No. 2 on the depth chart. That lasted less than a week.
When the Jets traded for Tim Tebow, General Manager Mike Tannenbaum proclaimed Tebow the No. 2 quarterback. And according to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, that directly contradicts what Tannenbaum promised Stanton -- and that promise to Stanton was the primary reason he agreed to sign with the Jets.
“The person they just signed to be their No. 2 quarterback, Drew Stanton, he was promised by General Manager Mike Tannenbaum that they weren’t going to get any other quarterbacks, that they weren’t going to draft a quarterback or get a Tim Tebow,” La Canfora said on NFL Network. “That’s how they lured Stanton there, with the allure of ‘You’re our No. 2.’ There’s a very good chance Drew Stanton asks for his release or a trade.”
So Stanton will be the latest player to learn what many players have learned before: No one is promised a job in the NFL, and if you think you’ve been promised a job, your team will only keep that promise until the day they can get someone they think is better. The only thing that’s truly promised to a free agent is whatever money is fully guaranteed in his contract. Verbal promises are empty.
La Canfora also said that Mark Sanchez doesn’t want Tebow in New York. If the Jets return to Hard Knocks, the quarterback meetings promise to be awkward and fascinating.
