Tim Tebow: New York Jets QB Should Have Turned Down GQ Cover

For its annual "NFL Kick-Off" issue (hitting newsstands Aug. 21), GQ magazine chose two of the league's most-marketed faces: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow.

From the magazine's perspective, Newton and Tebow are the perfect cover athletes.

Both men are, well, not horrible looking, have undeniable charisma and share a common bond from Newton's time backing up Tebow at the University of Florida.

While Newton is deserving of all the limelight in the world and was right to take his spot on the cover, Tebow should have taken a step back from "Tebowmania" and turned down the opportunity.

Newton's cover story focuses on the 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year's coming of age, from immature and petulant teenager to perhaps the greatest rookie season in league history. Newton's 2011-12 season in Carolina, where he threw for 4,051 yards and accounted for a combined 35 touchdowns, is perhaps the dawning of a redefinition of the quarterback position.

Tebow's story is (unsurprisingly) far less football-centric. Though the article, written by admitted Jets fan Devin Gordon, does touch on Tebow's miraculous six game-winning drives last season with the Denver Broncos, its focal point is the "aura of Tebow."

There is no mention of Peyton Manning or John Elway, the two men who essentially ran the quarterback out of Denver. No mention of Tebow working in the offseason to better his atrocious 46.5 completion percentage from last season. Nearly no thought to actual football whatsoever, other than when/if Tebow will usurp incumbent starter Mark Sanchez.

Instead, it's a Jesus-like pose from the story's accompanying photo (used from a photo shoot from the quarterback's days at Florida, via Los Angeles Times), a capitalization of the word "him" (another Christianity reference) and the use of words like "Tebowner."

And that's exactly why Tebow should never have agreed to this cover story in the first place.

That's not a criticism of the author because of course a story on Tebow wouldn't have its main focus be football. He's an incredibly interesting human interest piece, yet not as a football player. His 72.7 passer rating ranked 28th in the NFL last season and those fourth-quarter comebacks would not have been possible without atrocious play in the first three periods.

And now, despite all the hoopla surrounding him, Tebow is a backup quarterback. Nothing more, nothing less. Sure, he'll come in and run some gimmick plays with the first-team offense, but he's also working in punt protection.

It's not exactly breaking news that coaches don't put guys they plan on starting at quarterback on the punt team.

All this story (and Tebow's recent interview with the Associated Press, link via Newser) does is place more undue pressure on Sanchez and cause yet another distraction in a Jets training camp marred by multiple brawls (via ESPN New York).

With the focus of the football world lasered in on Jets camp, Tebow would have better served to stay out of the media limelight, keep to himself and work on becoming the quarterback so many think he already is.

Then maybe next year GQ could have come calling looking for Tim Tebow the quarterback instead of Tim Tebow the celebrity.