Buckle up, New York City, the circus is coming to town. Well, maybe.
The New York Jets traded for quarterback Tim Tebow today, one day after the announcement of Peyton Manning as the new starting quarterback in Denver. The Jets would get Tebow and a 7th round draft pick in exchange for the Jets 4th and 6th round pics.
Shortly after the announcement, it came out that a “snag” was hit when the Jets realized that Tebow’s contract would require the Jets to repay about $5 million in salary advanced to Tebow for the years 2012 and 2013. Since this was structured as a guaranteed salary advance rather than a bonus, if the Jets take over the contract, they would need to repay the money to the Broncos.
Apparently, the Jets were so excited to execute the trade for Tebow that they failed to actually read his contract. The delay while the Jets and Broncos argue over the advance has opened the door, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jacksonville Jaguars have re-entered the fray in an attempt to pry Tebow away from the Jets.
As an aside, the most embarrassing part of this incident is the sloppiness of the Jets front office in executing and announcing a trade without reading or understanding the contract they were trading for. It doesn’t suggest a tightly-run organization and coming on the heels of the locker room problems from last season, seems to raise yet another warning flag in the Big Apple. The Giants can comfortably lean back, polish their newest Lombardi trophy, and not worry about arguing over who is the “little brother” in New York.
It looks as if Tebow’s options are down to either the Jets or Jags, and Tebow has to be hoping that the Jaguars can pull this off. Tebow had indicated to a close friend on Tuesday that his preference was to play in Florida, where he played in college. Plus the Jags quarterback situation is more open, which would potentially allow Tebow at least a shot at the starting job. Last year’s first round draft pick Blaine Gabbert was less than impressive, turning in the 34th ranked passer rating of NFL quarterbacks. (Yes, that means that with 31 other NFL teams, 33 quarterbacks were ranked ahead of Gabbert).
The Jags also signed Chad Henne as a back up and potentially to push Gabbert, and a three-way quarterback competition in Jacksonville wouldn’t be out of the question if Tebow lands back in Florida.
The Jets recently signed Mark Sanchez to a three-year contract extension, with $20.5 million in guarantees for 2012 and 2013, and Tebow would only be used as a Wildcat quarterback in New York.
More stories you might like
