Tim Tebow Trade Rumors: Is Jacksonville a Potential Fit?

With rumors flying that the Jacksonville Jaguars are at least considering Tim Tebow, it's time to figure out how he would work in the confines of the Jags' team and offense.

Jacksonville recently signed Chad Henne to be their backup quarterback and to push Blaine Gabbert for the starting position.

If the Jags were to trade for Tebow now, they would have to ship off one of the two quarterbacks as part of the deal.

Scenario #1: Tebow for Gabbert

I covered this the other night, and I don't think the Jags even field this call.

Still, if there is pressure from ownership and/or the Jaguars aren't convinced Gabbert will ever be an elite passer, perhaps they try to wrangle a pick from the Broncos in the exchange of players.

This becomes a great scenario for the Broncos, who can later flip Gabbert for a better pick next year after his stock has risen thanks to the mythical benefits of sitting him behind Peyton Manning for a season.

From the Jags' perspective, they've put Chad Henne in the exact nightmare position he was dreading all preseason in Miami.

Simply from a locker-room stand point, I don't see how it works. Henne will be miserable, and players will be very upset.

Scenario #2: Tebow for Henne

This is more plausible on the surface.

The Jags need (cough, want) Tebow, and the Broncos could use a viable backup just in case Manning's trick neck acts up.

The problem is it lands Gabbert and Tebow together in the same offense, and that's a recipe for disaster.

Tebow needs a special system built around his amazing abilities and glaring weaknesses. That's not a system that Blaine Gabbert is going to thrive in, who had the second worst rushing DVOA in football last year.

Tebow, well, he was born to run.

Stir into the mix the fact new head coach Mike Mularkey is a passing guru brought in to mentor Gabbert and create a passing offense.

John Fox in Denver is used to substandard passers. He spent most of his career with Jake Delhomme. It wasn't hard for him build a game plan around a guy who can't throw.

Asking Mularkey to fix Tebow doesn't make much sense.

How would they use him?

Let's assume for a moment that the Jags overlook the obvious objections and bring Tebow on-board anyway. The only way they bring him to the Jacksonville is if they are going to play him as the starting quarterback.

The Jaguars aren't the Patriots.

If Bill Belichick brought Tebow in, it would be clear he would be used like Julian Edleman after a dose of gamma radiation. Tebow wouldn't be a quarterback in New England, he'd be a weapon for Belichick to deploy in unusual ways and circumstances. No one would confuse him for Tom Brady.

In Jacksonville, however, he's a gate attraction. It's foolish to bring in a gate attraction to have him run a few Wildcat snaps 15 times a game.

Tebow's acquisiton would require the Jags to dramatically rework the offense the coaches have been trying to implement for the last few months.

Essentially, the offense would consist of sending Laurent Robinson deep every play and then yelling for everyone else to block like their lives depended on it.

So will they deal for him?

No! How could they? The Jags just aren't a logical fit.

A few months ago, Jacksonville could have acquired him and then geared their whole team around making it work. They've already taken too many steps down the road to reverse course now just to sell some tickets.

Maybe they don't trust Gabbert.

If so, then the team should draft a new quarterback right away. Not liking the guy they have isn't nearly enough reason to bring in Tebow.

You only trade for Tim Tebow to be your starting quarterback if you are completely and utterly convinced he'll be a star for a long time. If that is the Jags' thought, why didn't the team draft him two years ago or trade for him last year?

Jacksonville has to give the appearance of considering Tebow for the sake of their fans, but anything more than that would be franchise suicide.