Idzik says Jets didn’t consider asking Tebow to change positions

It’s been obvious for months that Tim Tebow had no future as a quarterback for the Jets, and the only surprise when the Jets cut Tebow on Monday was that they waited so long to do it. But did the Jets keep Tebow around as long as they did with a thought of moving him to another position?
Asked that question on Mike and Mike in the Morning, John Idzik said that from the time he became the Jets’ general manager, he and the Jets’ staff never had any thought of playing Tebow anywhere but quarterback.
“No, we didn’t,” Idzik said. “Tim, while I was here, he was slated as a quarterback.”
The strange thing about the way the Jets used Tebow last year, however, was that they seemed to be going out of their way not to give him a chance to play quarterback: He was the personal protector on the punt team and took snaps in the Wildcat formation, but when the Jets wanted a quarterback to replace Mark Sanchez, they turned to Greg McElroy, not Tebow.
Tebow was good with the ball in his hands in college and might be able to play some fullback or tight end if given the opportunity, but from all accounts he sees himself as a quarterback. And although the Jets didn’t give him a chance to play quarterback, that’s how they saw him, too.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Michael David Smith
Photo: Anthony J Causi, NY Post

Rex on Tebow: “Things did not work out the way we all had hoped”

The Jets have released quarterback-of-all-trades Tim Tebow, less than 14 months after trading for him.
“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said in a release.  “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped.  Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason.  We wish him the best moving forward.”
It’s a little strange that Ryan would be the one to comment on the situation, given that G.M. John Idzik surely made the decision.  Perhaps Idzik, who had nothing to do with the decision to acquire Tebow, opted to ask Ryan to be the one to apply the final mop to the move that made last year a mess for the Jets.
The timing makes clear that the Jets squatted on Tebow through the draft, in the hopes that someone/anyone would trade something/anything for his contract.  On Friday, the Jets leaked to ESPN that he showed up 15 pounds lighter and that Tebow continues to win support in the organization.  That was the Hail Mary pass.
And it ended up being roughly as accurate as most of the passes Tebow throws.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
AP Photo, Mel Evans

Report: Jets will keep Sanchez into preseason

The six-ring circus isn’t leaving New York City any time soon. Two days after Jets G.M. John Idzik declined to declare that incumbent starter Mark Sanchez will be a member of the team in training camp, Bob Glauber of Newsday reports that Sanchez will indeed remain on the team.
Citing an unnamed league source, Glauber reports that the Jets are expected to keep Sanchez into the preseason, and to let him compete for the starting job.
The Jets have no reason to prematurely cut Sanchez, given that they’ll owe him $8.25 million whether he’s on the roster or not in 2013.  Given that the Jets will be required to pay Sanchez the full amount of the money within 30 days after cutting him, it makes sense to delay what feels like the inevitable, given the decision to use a high second-round pick on quarterback Geno Smith.
Allowing Sanchez to remain with the team means that he’ll earn a full $500,000 workout bonus.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo: USAToday

Matt Barkley says he’ll remember the QBs taken ahead of him

Tom Brady, the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft, has been known to think about the six quarterbacks selected ahead of him that year as a form of motivation. Matt Barkley, the 98th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, says he’s going to have a similar mindset.
“You visualize all the picks that went in front of you, especially the other quarterbacks,” Barkley told Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News. “I’m going to remember this weekend for a long time and so are the teams that didn’t draft me.”
For the record, the quarterbacks drafted ahead of Barkley were E.J. Manuel, Geno Smith and Mike Glennon. And the teams that didn’t draft Barkley are all 31 teams besides the Eagles — every team had a chance at Barkley and passed.
So if Barkley needed any motivation, this draft has given him plenty.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Michael David Smith