One of the biggest surprises of the 2012 offseason was the decision of the Denver Broncos to trade quarterback Tim Tebow. One of the biggest surprises of the 2013 offseason has been the decision of the New York Jets to keep Tebow on the roster.
Though cutting or trading Tebow would create some cap space (he has a base salary of $2.58 million in 2013), the Jets presumably are squatting on Tebow in the hopes that someone will offer something/anything for the former first-rounder for whom the Jets gave up a fourth-round and sixth-round pick last March. (At least they picked up an extra seventh rounder as part of the transaction.)
Things get interesting come April 15, when the Jets open their offseason program. Tebow undoubtedly will be there will bells on, working hard to prepare for the coming season. Apart from the risk of an injury that could put the Jets on the hook for his full salary in the coming year, Tebow brings an inherent distraction. Will the Jets want him around the players who, unlike him, actually have a chance of being on the roster in 2013?
It’s unlikely that anyone will trade for Tebow, and the sooner he gets a chance to join another offseason program, the better the chance he’ll have to prove himself. So the right thing for the Jets to do would be to cut him, sooner rather than later.
With the draft coming only 10 days after the Jets open their offseason program, the biggest question is whether they’ll cut him if they can’t trade him before April 15, or whether they’ll cut him if they can’t move him during the draft.
Either way, any outcome other than the Jets cutting him would be a shock.
