Tim Tebow Trade Talk Rumor Squelched; 'Out of Character'
With only one season game under his belt as a Jets player, unashamed Christian quarterback Tim Tebow is rumored to be contemplating a trade away from the New York Jets by season's end. However, shortly after its publication at the New York Daily News, many sports analysts were calling the trade story that included quotes from an un-named NFL source preposterous.
"He won't make a stink during the season, but if Mark Sanchez doesn't provide an opening to play, then I think Tebow is one-and-done as a Jet," wrote sports columnist Gary Myers in the article for the Daily News. "I believe he endorsed the trade to the Jets rather than his hometown Jaguars because he felt he would have a better opportunity to get on the field as a quarterback. Sanchez was vulnerable, but he has responded to the pressure put on by Tebow."
Myers then quotes an anonymous NFL source as saying, "I think he will be a good soldier. At the end of the year, I think he will express those concerns to the Jets. He will want to move on. The one thing about Tebow is he is the quintessential team player. He would never do anything that is going to undermine the team. But he's football-aholic. It's in his blood."
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Already under a giant magnifying glass for being a so-called "polarizing" sports figure, Tebow has not immediately responded to the rumor, but the sports media became all-a-twitter with opinions on Thursday.
"The source and the theory behind it doesn't fully add up when stacked against Tebow the man," wrote Kristian Dyer in a column published for the CBS New York website.
After explaining that Tebow knew full well what he was getting himself into with the Jets, Dyer writes: "He is a gamer and a fighter, and one never counts out that type of player. The Tebow way isn't to back down, and it isn't to ask for a trade. As such, it would be out of character for Tebow to demand a trade, or even rumble about it."
On Thursday, NFL Network reporter Albert Breer tweeted, "I can't find anyone who gives any credence to the idea that Tim Tebow is suddenly somehow contemplating what he'll do in 2013."
The Jets posted a 48-28 win over AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills last Sunday. Sanchez threw three touchdown passes and helped the Jets set the franchise record for most points in a season opener.
In the game against the Bills, Tebow was involved in only 10 of the Jets' offensive plays. He ran the ball five times for 11 yards and didn't throw a pass.
"I'm definitely competitive, but the No. 1 thing to help competitiveness is winning football games," said Tebow. "However I can help this team to win football games, that's the ultimate goal."
Dyer, who covers the Jets for Metro New York, described Tebow beyond his competitive nature.
"You see, Tebow has never been about this world, and the born-again Christian with a strong faith isn't as concerned about his snaps and playing time as he is with his own character and soul," Dyer wrote in the same column that blasts the trade rumor. "For Tebow isn't just an athlete or a personality; he's an ambassador here on earth of a faith which he so clearly wants to share. The greatest media market in the world provides him with that platform, where at every turn he is being talked about.
"And starter or not, New York lets him share his faith, something more important to him than wins and losses."
