Are Tim Tebow's troubles in finding an NFL team to play for next season the result of the popular player being blackballed by the league's teams?
That could be the case, according to a Yahoo! Sports blog published Thursday. The blog's writer, Michael Silver, speculates that part of the reason that Tebow, recently cut by the New York Jets during the offseason, has been finding it hard to get any offers for his services is because teams are gun-shy about attracting the media frenzy that comes along with Tebow.
As sports fans remember, "Tebowmania" exploded in the 2011 season when the Florida-born Tebow, a little known backup quarterback at the time with the Denver Broncos, took over for injured starter Kyle Orton and led the Broncos to the AFC West title and a playoff win. With his sudden rise to prominence and his Christian values displayed during his touchdown prayer celebration, Tebow became an overnight star and drew a rabid fan base following.
That, several coaches told Yahoo Sports!, was the problem right now in landing Tebow.
"He seems like a great guy to have on a team, and I'd be tempted to bring him in as our backup," one NFC head coach said. "But it's just not worth dealing with all the stuff that comes with it."
"You don't want to put up with the circus," an AFC coach added.
However, not everyone feels that way. Arena league owner Derrick Brooks, a former 11-time Pro-Bowl selection, told USA Today Wednesday that he felt Tebow did in fact have a future in the NFL.
Brooks' team has offered a contract to Tebow since his release.
"Right now, teams are looking internally and they want to deal with what they have on the roster first," said Brooks, adding that Tebow needed to be patient. After having spoken with former Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who worked with Tebow on his mechanics during the offseason, Brooks expressed confidence that the popular wildcat-running quarterback wasn't done yet in the NFL.
I'm mostly positive that Tim will get another chance after talking with Vinny, who said, 'He worked on some footwork stuff in the pocket, which improved Tim's throwing accuracy and improved his motion,'' Brooks said.
"Vinny really believes we've not seen the best of Tim.''