First Brady Quinn, Now Tim Tebow: Victims of Circumstance

It's really sad how business in the NFL is run.

There are some players, in my opinion, that have a shot at becoming something special; players that have that need, that drive, that thing we call intangibles—the one thing that scouts can't measure.

Two of those players that I'm talking about are Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow.

Coming out of Notre Dame, Brady Quinn was hailed as the next great QB. His work ethic is unmeasured, his athletic ability is very impressive (especially for a QB), and his accuracy is deadly.  

How does a player like Quinn, who was the face of the 2007 draft, fall so far from grace?

I believe one of the pitfalls that some of these players suffer from is going to a team in transition—or rather, a team in transition under a clueless front office.  

In Quinn's case, the Browns decided to let him watch and learn from Derek Anderson, the starter. However, Anderson wound up playing well in 2007, prompting the Browns to give him a big contract extension after just one productive season.  

Compare that to a competent front office like the one in New England. The Patriots got a very good season from Matt Cassel, who was filling in for the injured Tom Brady. They recognized that the one season was not necessarily a good indicator of his quality, so they flipped him to Kansas City for a second round pick.

The Browns, however, committed to Anderson based on a small sample of success, thereby stunting Quinn's growth by forcing him to keep sitting on the bench.

Sure enough, Anderson struggled the very next year. This would have been the perfect opportunity to let Quinn prove himself—except the Browns weren't going to bench a player to whom they just gave a big contract.  

Brady Quinn didn't start his learning process until 2009, when he started a couple of games. It didn't help that his offense had zero weapons, but he made the best of a bad situation.  

Finally, in 2010, the Browns brought in a credible GM in Mike Holmgren. Unfortunately for Quinn, he was no longer part of the equation, as he was traded to the Broncos for Peyton Hillis and two late draft picks—taking Quinn from one bad situation to another.

The terrible Broncos front office then compounded matters by drafting yet another quarterback, Tim Tebow. 

Currently, Quinn is third on the depth chart, behind Kyle Orton and the rookie Tebow.

There is now untapped potential within the ranks of the Broncos—but it seems that it will all go to waste. 

In four years, Quinn has played for four different coaches and two teams. Nobody could succeed in those circumstances.

Tim Tebow may now be in the same boat as Quinn.  

He is a rookie with loads of promise: much like Quinn, he is an electrifying competitor and possesses great intangibles in addition to his physical skill. Now, with the head coach that saw those intangibles gone, Tim Tebow's best hope may be getting traded—hopefully to a better organization, unlike Quinn.  

As a San Diego Chargers fan, I'll gladly take Tebow or Quinn to play a back-up role in the Chargers offense, as Billy Volek is aging. They'll learn from Philip Rivers how to be a top notch QB and if they decide to leave, maybe they'll be given a great shot at being the next guy for another team, like Charlie Whitehurst was.  

Let's hope that both Quinn and Tebow find their way to success. They have way too much talent to be wasting away on the Broncos' sidelines.