One year after bringing Tim Tebow to Broadway, creating a nationwide fascination that slowly evolved into a salacious controversy, the New York Jets made the long-anticipated move Monday of releasing one of the NFL's most popular players.
The Jets confirmed the release in a three-paragraph news release, a long way from his Super Bowl-sized news conference last March.
"We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow," coach Rex Ryan said. "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."
So ends one of the strangest chapters in team history -- maybe in league history.
Tebow received rock-star media coverage from the moment he arrived. His introductory news conference last March drew more than 200 media members, highly unusual for a backup quarterback. The Jets were criticized for the excess.
After using a second-round pick on Geno Smith, the Jets had six quarterbacks on the roster and someone had to go. The Jets tried for months to trade Tebow, sources said. His release was earlier reported by the New York Post.
Tebow attended the first two weeks of the offseason program. In fact, he reported 12 pounds under his 2012 playing weight. Despite vague comments by team officials, they never had any intention of retaining him.
The Tebow trade never came close to living up to the hype, as Tebow played in only 72 offensive snaps. It became apparent late in the season that he'd be one-and-done in New York.
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/9222870/new-york-jets-cut-tim-tebow