NFL Rumors: New York Jets Owe QB Drew Stanton a Trade After Tim Tebow Deal

While most have only thought about how the acquisition of Tim Tebow affects New York Jets starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, it also has a profound impact on new backup Drew Stanton. With Tebow now in the fold, the Jets owe it to Stanton to trade him elsewhere.

According to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York, Stanton, who signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract last Friday, wants to be traded or released. Stanton was reportedly promised the No. 2 job by the Jets and turned down better offers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs in order to play behind Sanchez.

Stanton is clearly no longer second in line, however, so general manager Mike Tannenbaum owes Stanton a trade for going back on his word. That isn't to say the Jets should have ignored Tebow because of their commitment to Stanton, but the Jets should also hold up their end of the bargain.

Tannenbaum clearly wasn't planning on acquiring another quarterback, but since the Denver Broncos signed Peyton Manning, the opportunity to deal for Tebow was sprung upon him. It wasn't something that he had considered when he signed Stanton, according to Cimini.

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When we signed Drew, clearly we thought he'd be our backup quarterback, Tannenbaum said. This [Tebow] scenario wasn't contemplated. ... We're going to look at keeping four quarterbacks. We're going to assess our options there. As of now, we don't have that situation resolved.

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While some might think Stanton is acting like a baby, seeing as though he just signed a contract that will net him more than $1 million, he's a competitor who wants a chance to play. He certainly knew Sanchez is walking on eggshells in New York and one slip-up could have led to a starting opportunity.

Now that he is third on the depth chart, however, Stanton's hopes of seeing any game action whatsoever in the regular season are basically nonexistent. Stanton was led to believe he was entering into a certain situation, but that situation completely changed within a matter of days.

Ultimately you can't really blame the Jets in this situation because they jumped on an opportunity to improve their team. You also can't blame Stanton for being upset. Rather than letting him rot on the bench all season long, the best course of action would be for the Jets' brass to find a trade partner that makes sense and deal him away for whatever they can get in return.

It certainly isn't very often that a free-agent signing goes sour this quickly, but it also isn't very often that the signing of a Hall of Fame quarterback makes one of the most popular players in the game available. Stanton is simply another casualty of one of the strangest NFL offseasons in recent memory.