Tim Tebow trade: Jets won't do it, but should they?

Trade Tim Tebow? The New York Jets won't, but with the NFL Trade Deadline looming next Tuesday (Oct. 30) there is some sentiment that they should.

Rich Cimini of ESPN New York took that stance on Tuesday:

After seven weeks, the New York Jets still don't know how to use Tim Tebow, the World's Most Famous Personal Protector. There was supposed to be a plan, but the plan isn't working. Clearly, they overvalued his ability to affect the game out of the Wildcat package.

If this is all there is, if this is the most head coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano can get out of Tebow, the Jets should consider dealing him before next Tuesday's trading deadline.

Is Cimini right? The Jets, truthfully, don't seem to know quite what to do with Tebow. He has carried only 22 times for 76 yards in seven games as the Jets have gone an inconsistent 3-4. He has thrown only three passes. As Cimini pointed out, Tebow has played 11 offensive snaps in the past two games -- many of those as nothing more than a decoy.

Manish Mehta, who covers the Jets for the New York Daily News, is not outright advocating a trade. He did write Wednesday, however, that the Jets' acquisition of Tebow "has hurt the two people that it was designed to help."

Those two people being, of course, Tebow and starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Mehta wrote:

Before their careers intersected in March, Sanchez and Tebow were on paths that young quarterbacks everywhere dream of taking, ascending talents playing the hardest position in sports.

Now, both of their futures are clouded.

Whether it was Woody Johnson, Mike Tannenbaum or Rex Ryan's call to pull the trigger on trading for Tebow, the first seven weeks of the season have done nothing but stunt both quarterbacks' development.

Mehta is right. Tebow isn't playing. Sanchez isn't playing well.

By almost any measure, Sanchez is having one of the worst seasons of any NFL starting quarterback. His 53.2 percent completion rate is worst in the league. His 74.6 passer rating is above only Andrew Luck, Brandon Weeden and the now-benched Matt Cassel. His QBR of 35.5 is second-worst in the NFL, with only Cleveland's Weeden ranking lower.

Jets' owner Woody Johnson has said that a Tebow trade won't happen. There would seem to be an opening for one right now, however. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Tebow's hometown team, are 1-5. The team's starting quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, has a torn labrum. The moribund Jags could use something, anything, to give the fan base a reason to care. Tebow, whatever he is or is not as an NFL quarterback, could do that.

The Jets won't let that happen. But the question is, should they?

Vote in the poll and let us know what you think.