# Why doesn't Denver just release/trade Tim Tebow to a team that could use him? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 24, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970 "2011-08-24T23:35:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/21 "2011-08-25T14:27:34Z")
Denver may release him. I think they wanted to trade him, but no one is offering because they realize Denver’s new management doesn’t want him - which means any team that likes Tebow can wait for him to hit the waver wire. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/22 "2011-08-25T14:31:14Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Out of random curiosity, I googled and it seems the Montreal Alouettes own his negotiating rights. I don’t know how long Calvillo will continue to play, but MacPherson seems like he could start in the CFL, so Tebow would have to beat him to get regular starts (I’m not knowledgeable enough to say whether or not he could). Looks like he really doesn’t have that many options if he wants to play! Indeed, and I think this might be Tebow’s best chance. A traditionalist coach like Fox is never going to want him; he’s never going to look like NFL coaches want their QBs to look in practice. There is [precedent](http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/3535) for guys being told they’d never succeed going to Canada, tearing it up, and coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/23 "2011-08-25T14:41:04Z")
Tebow would not start in Cleveland and he would not even be 2nd string. He’d be 3rd behind Seneca Wallace. The reason he sucks is because his throwing motion is a wreck. I heard someone (maybe John Clayton?) on ESPN radio recently say that Tebow worked really hard to improve his motion, but he has actually regressed. The reason the Broncos won’t release him is because, hey everyone needs a 3rd string QB. And they can’t trade him because his value is crap. You could make a strong case that they should have traded him much sooner before \*everyone else \*knew he was so crappy. > [@Munch](#): > > If you want to bitch about a high profile player being buried in the depth chart, look no further than Denver’s current #2 QB, Brady Quinn. Yeah, he didn’t do anything at Cleveland, but who in the NFL could have done anything at Cleveland? He’s certainly not ready to start (especially over Super Bowl veteran Kyle Orton), but he’s not as green as Tebow is. I agree BQ got a raw deal in Cleveland. I thought he was actually pretty good considering the horrible lack of talent around him and his broken finger, but somehow he got labelled a bust. By most accounts, he has played real nice for Denver so far this preseason. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/24 "2011-08-25T14:49:40Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Because he’s got positives as well as deficiencies. Just from the stats, he’s not an accurate passer, but each of his 3 starts he scored a rushing touchdown, and runs for 70+ yards a game. You mask his deficiencies as a passer and accentuate his skills as a rusher, maybe you are better off than having a guy who is just a mediocre passer. Yeah, but the only win in those starts was against the Texans, who had an awful interior run defense that was masked and eclipsed by its completely inept pass defense. Check the stats from last year. If you take Houston games away from 2010 QBs, their passing stats look a lot worse. We were good for an extra 5-10 easy QB rating points in every game, if not more. The other games were against division opponents, but Oakland (at 8-8) also had a porous run defense. The week 17 game against San Diego was actually against a stout run defense, so congrats on getting yards there. But Tebow wasn’t just a mediocre passer, he was downright awful passing in this game. So, his team leading 70+ yards couldn’t make up for the atrocious passing stats for this game. If you want to accentuate his skills as a runner, make him a tight end. QBs in the NFL need to pass. Vick wasn’t much of a passer when he started, but he was still a better passer than Tebow. And I say this as an SEC partisan. He’s a nice guy but he’s still a bad passer. Though he did show signs of (moderate) improvement in his arm mechanics this pre-season. I completely understand why they won’t trade him. Nobody wants to give Denver anything close to the 1st round pick they used to get him. And outright releasing a 1st round player after spending millions is a surefire way to be hauled out of Colorado on a rail. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/25 "2011-08-25T15:00:26Z")
Tweebo should be Vick’s backup. As for Denver’s issues with him, a lot of Broncos fans that I know view his being there as the result of the Josh McD follies. Sure, he was good in the NCAA, on a team that used a system he was good in. He likely wouldn’t have been as highly regarded elsewhere. Doesn’t mean he isn’t good at all. Just means he’s really good in a certain type of offense and not so much in other types. There have been many star college players that couldn’t even get signed on to a NFL team. Heisman winner Jason White (also winner of BCS championship) couldn’t even get drafted, tried out and finally got on to a team where he didn’t play one down. Bad QB? Not at OU. Didn’t fit in the NFL, tho. Hey, it happens. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/26 "2011-08-25T17:13:27Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Indeed, and I think this might be Tebow’s best chance. A traditionalist coach like Fox is never going to want him; he’s never going to look like NFL coaches want their QBs to look in practice. There is [precedent](http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/3535) for guys being told they’d never succeed going to Canada, tearing it up, and coming back. By the sounds of it, Tebow might enjoy the CFL, where QBs _seem_ (to me) to run/rush a little more. Get him some reps as a 3rd-and-1 specialist behind one of the veteran QBs to learn from, and toss him in the game at the end of blow outs. But, ooooooh, the pay cut! His current salary is about a third of the CFL’s cap! You gotta want to play for the love of the game! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/27 "2011-08-25T18:05:24Z")
Or hw could accept the fact that he could become a starter at some other position, like tight end. Not everybody who played QB in high school gets to play QB in college, and not everybody who pNFLed QB in college has the capacity to play QB in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/28 "2011-08-25T18:22:29Z")
Everyone seems to love to hate Tebow and the evaluations in this thread reflect that. The issue seems to be that Tebow has fallen to third on the depth chart. But how bad is that actually? He’s behind Orton, a legit starter in the league, and Brady Quinn, a former 1st round pick that has experience. That’s hardly a disaster. I haven’t heard anything to indicate that Tebow has been bad in camp. Just that Quinn and Orton have been better. What’s more important is that he played reasonably well for a rookie. No, he wasn’t great, but he wasn’t a disaster. Certainly better than Quinn or Orton at their respective stages of their careers. He clearly has potential. It amuses me that virtually everyone agreed that Tebow was a project, yet their up in arms that he isn’t good before his 2nd year? IMHO he did enough his rookie year to think that, at minimum, he’s going to be a competent 2nd stringer in year 3. Which means there is absolutely no reason for the Broncos to trade or waive him. They’ve already paid the bonus money, and Tebow’s salary is only 1.5 mil - 2.5 mil per year from now on. That’s not overpaid for a backup QB. The real story in this situation is that Quinn might be living up to his potential. If you recall, he was considered a franchise QB and top 10 guy or better at draft time. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/29 "2011-08-25T18:26:55Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Everyone seems to love to hate Tebow and the evaluations in this thread reflect that. Agreed. It’s almost impossible to get a levelheaded evaluation of the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/30 "2011-08-25T18:43:28Z")
Which helps explain why the Broncos aren’t going to just give him away. Why do that? You can’t get enough back in a trade to justify the risk that he turns into a legit player. So just let him develop while holding a clipboard, play your better QBs, and bide your time. They have no obligation to put him in a different situation. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/31 "2011-08-25T18:47:16Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Which helps explain why the Broncos aren’t going to just give him away. Why do that? You can’t get enough back in a trade to justify the risk that he turns into a legit player. So just let him develop while holding a clipboard, play your better QBs, and bide your time. They have no obligation to put him in a different situation. If Quinn is indeed reaching his potential it’s unlikely he is going to be a Bronco after this year. Starting caliber QBs in this league are at a premium, and someone is going to pay him. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/32 "2011-08-25T18:48:23Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Tweebo should be Vick’s backup. > > As for Denver’s issues with him, a lot of Broncos fans that I know view his being there as the result of the Josh McD follies. > > Sure, he was good in the NCAA, on a team that used a system he was good in. He likely wouldn’t have been as highly regarded elsewhere. Doesn’t mean he isn’t good at all. Just means he’s really good in a certain type of offense and not so much in other types. > > There have been many star college players that couldn’t even get signed on to a NFL team. Heisman winner Jason White (also winner of BCS championship) couldn’t even get drafted, tried out and finally got on to a team where he didn’t play one down. Bad QB? Not at OU. Didn’t fit in the NFL, tho. Hey, it happens. Just though I’d clarify that Jason White never won a BCS championship as a starting QB (he was redshirted in 2000). ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/33 "2011-08-25T18:53:02Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Everyone seems to love to hate Tebow and the evaluations in this thread reflect that. The issue seems to be that Tebow has fallen to third on the depth chart. But how bad is that actually? He’s behind Orton, a legit starter in the league, and Brady Quinn, a former 1st round pick that has experience. That’s hardly a disaster. I haven’t heard anything to indicate that Tebow has been bad in camp. Just that Quinn and Orton have been better. There’s a report that he’s close to falling to fourth in the depth chart, behind undrafted rookie free agent [Adam Weber](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-silver_denver_broncos_quarterbacks_082311). As a Gopher fan, I’ve spent the last day laughing about this report. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/34 "2011-08-25T18:56:39Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > By the sounds of it, Tebow might enjoy the CFL, where QBs _seem_ (to me) to run/rush a little more. Get him some reps as a 3rd-and-1 specialist behind one of the veteran QBs to learn from, and toss him in the game at the end of blow outs. > > But, ooooooh, the pay cut! His current salary is about a third of the CFL’s cap! You gotta want to play for the love of the game! 🆒 Well, if he has nowhere else to play come 2012 or 2013 … > [@garygnu](#): > > Or hw could accept the fact that he could become a starter at some other position, like tight end. That’s highly unlikely. For good or ill, the modern NFL is a highly specialized endeavor where even the long snappers have spent years working on their specific skills. People like to talk about those kinds of conversion projects based purely on height/weight/speed, but they almost never work at the NFL level. QB conversions rarely succeed; when they do it’s only when the conversion is immediate, done with players who otherwise had no shot in the NFL … and even then they do it’s only been moderate success – Antwaan Randle-El was the best in recent years, and he was mostly a backup. (And no, the fact that Hines Ward played four games at QB in his sophomore year does not mean the Steelers converted him). Asking a guy who has been a QB and only a QB since he was eight years old to, at 24, put his hand on the ground and learn how to run block 275 pound NFL Defensive Ends one-on-one (which starting TEs must do) is simply not realistic. At best, Tebow could be a second or third TE, mostly used from the slot. Which would not be a bad thing, especially if he was also an emergency/gadget play QB and special teams guy; i.e. a bigger Brad Smith. Except that the media attention and fan support he has make turning him to a role player problematic. No fault of his, but that’s reality. Good, bad or indifferent, he’s a QB. Either he plays with someone who sees him as a QB, or he’s out of the league. > [@Marley23](#): > > Agreed. It’s almost impossible to get a levelheaded evaluation of the guy. Exactly. He’s the most interesting player in the NFL for that exact reason. That’s part of why I think comparing him to Flutie is so apt. In the same way, some people swore Flutie was a NFL QB, size be damned; and others actually got viscerally angry at the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Disgscen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Disgscen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgscen)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/35 "2011-08-25T18:59:02Z")
> [@treis](#): > > What’s more important is that he played reasonably well for a rookie. No, he wasn’t great, but he wasn’t a disaster. Certainly better than Quinn or Orton at their respective stages of their careers. Orton went 10-5 in his rookie year, and while his passer rating was pretty bad, the coaches didn’t let him pass on a consistent basis. He was smart, and learned his job so quickly it made the more experienced Grossman look almost stupid. Orton got the Bears to the playoffs, where they handed the job back to Grossman. Whenever Orton was given a fair chance, he played well. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/36 "2011-08-25T18:59:51Z")
I’m not a football person so please excuse the ignorance of the following question Tebow was obviously dominant and great in college. Of course, guys are slower and smaller in college, and plays are less complicated. However, everything on a football team starts at quarterback right? If you have a great one, you’re guaranteed to do at least average. Why don’t they revamp the team and make it like Tebow’s national title teams in college? Whatever his deficiencies in throwing, obviously he can throw a ball and get it to a receiver. Why not shape the team around him and his wonky throwing motion? Can’t they try to get bigger versions of his teammates in college? Or run plays like he was used to? ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/37 "2011-08-25T19:05:27Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’m not a football person so please excuse the ignorance of the following question > > Tebow was obviously dominant and great in college. Of course, guys are slower and smaller in college, and plays are less complicated. However, everything on a football team starts at quarterback right? If you have a great one, you’re guaranteed to do at least average. Why don’t they revamp the team and make it like Tebow’s national title teams in college? Whatever his deficiencies in throwing, obviously he can throw a ball and get it to a receiver. Why not shape the team around him and his wonky throwing motion? Can’t they try to get bigger versions of his teammates in college? Or run plays like he was used to? NFL defenses are WAY more sophisticated than college defenses! A couple games of film, and he’s right back where he started. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/38 "2011-08-25T19:11:59Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > There have been many star college players that couldn’t even get signed on to a NFL team. Heisman winner Jason White (also winner of BCS championship) couldn’t even get drafted, tried out and finally got on to a team where he didn’t play one down. Bad QB? Not at OU. Didn’t fit in the NFL, tho. Hey, it happens. Nitpick: Jason White wasn’t rejected by the NFL because he lacked skills. He was rejected because his knees were utterly shot. His knees were so bad that, in minicamp, he couldn’t make a 7 step drop quickly enough. He knew it as well as the coaches did. When he announced his retirement, he admitted, “It took me too long to make a 7 step drop. If I do that in a real game, I’ll get sacked every time.” That said, there ARE many quarterbacks who’ve won Heisman trophies (Scott Frost, Gino Torretta), national championships (Tee Martin, Tommy Frazier, James Street, Tony Rice, John Shaffer), or both (Charlie Ward, Danny Wuerffel) but who just didn’t have the skills needed to be successful NFL quarterbacks. Tim Tebow MAY well be one of those guys. I’m just not fully convinced yet. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/39 "2011-08-25T19:21:10Z")
> [@Disgscen](#): > > Orton went 10-5 in his rookie year, and while his passer rating was pretty bad, the coaches didn’t let him pass on a consistent basis. He was smart, and learned his job so quickly it made the more experienced Grossman look almost stupid. Orton got the Bears to the playoffs, where they handed the job back to Grossman. > > Whenever Orton was given a fair chance, he played well. If by “pretty bad” you mean the lowest in the league and a full 5 points below the second worst QB rating, then yeah, it was pretty bad. Seriously, your description of the Bears season that year is pretty far from reality. In reality, the Bears offense was absolutely horrible, and Orton was really bad. For a rookie 4th round pick, I suppose you can say he did ok. For any other objective measure he was terribly awful, and a lot worse than Tebow. > [@President Johnny Gentle](#): > > There’s a report that he’s close to falling to fourth in the depth chart, behind undrafted rookie free agent Adam Weber. As a Gopher fan, I’ve spent the last day laughing about this report. This is what I am talking about in a lack of objective analysis. Tebow’s in danger of falling behind a guy who the team didn’t even bother to give a preseason snap to? [Irish Accent] I’ll believe that when me shit turns green and smells like rainbow sherbert. [/IA] ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970/40 "2011-08-25T19:22:05Z")
The point about Jason White was that he was a good QB in NCAA and not in NFL. Whatever the reason. Plus, he was the first on the top of my head without googling, me being in Oklahoma and all… 😛 But, some other better examples were posted, so I think everyone got the point of my post. 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-denver-just-release-trade-tim-tebow-to-a-team-that-could-use-him/593970.md?page=3)