For Tebow Its Time to Change Positions or Change Career

At the University of Florida, Tim Tebow was one of the best quarterbacks I have ever seen. A quarterback with fullback's frame he was incredible to watch from his ability to run between the tackles to his ability to improvise and hit wide open receivers down field.

If you were playing a pick-up game with your friends, he's the type of guy that you would want on your team.  However if you are picking a quarterback for your National Football League team, you might want to go in a different direction.

In fact, Tebow himself might want to go in a different direction. Perhaps he should have heeded the advice of the experts who said after his career in Gainsville came to close that he didn't have the arm, accuracy, or mechanics to work as an effective NFL quarterback.

To his credit, Tebow heard the critics and went to work-eventually earning the attention of then Denver head coach Josh McDaniel who took him with the 25th pick. To Tebow's credit, he was patient his rookie season, seizing an opportunity in his sophomore campaign as he led the Broncos to the playoffs.

With that kind of performance, he should have been a staple in Denver for years, when you have the chance to sign Peyton Manning, you sign Peyton Manning. 

The decision was easy for the Broncos as Manning is a Super Bowl winning quarterback and a player many believe could go down as the best to play in the league.  It was also easy because Denver soon realized you can only win so many games with a pickup game style quarterback before a league full of defensive masterminds and superior athletes catch up.

Last season with the New York Jets, Tebow found out the rest of the league had caught up. He's long been said to be a horrible practice player, but now, those performances were translating into the game as his opportunities became more and more limited.

If he stays at quarterback for another season, he will only continue to stunt his own growth as a player. If he stays at the position he's always played, he will become nothing more than a sideshow-a box office draw and a platform to bring in media attention (which both would be welcome in a place like Jacksonville).

However, he could have a future at H-Back or special teams player.  The change would likely increase his shelf life in the league, but also come at the cost of exposure and salary-after all, no one is paying top dollar for an H-Back. It would be a humbling experience.

At just 25, Tebow has a lot of life in front of him and he has a lot of opportunities. He is a polarizing figure with a tremendous platform inside the church and is also an exceptional athlete with a resilient work ethic.

But as he sits in his mid-twenties he is at a crossroad: reinvent himself as a football player or leave the game to pursue other opportunities.