Quarterback Shuffling in the AFC East: When Will Tim Tebow Start?

Well, the AFC East has at least one stable quarterback situation that we know of. Tom Brady will be starting for the New England Patriots, and it appears as though the Buffalo Bills will also be moving forward permanently with Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starting quarterback (though I am not sure they’re married to that idea). However, the Jets and Dolphins have some interesting quarterback situations, and there could be a changing of the guard sooner rather than later in both cities.

For the New York Jets, right now the battle is between incumbent Mark Sanchez, and the incoming Tim Tebow. The Jets like to think they don’t have a quarterback controversy, but from what I’ve heard from people in the know, Tim Tebow is looking really, really good throwing the ball this offseason. Take that for what you will, which may be nothing whatsoever. But if Tebow is coming out slinging this year, he could be the best fourth and sixth round picks the Jets ever used.

Tebow was magical for the Broncos last season. There is simply no other way to put it. The energy that he had sparked the Broncos to a playoff run, regardless what you think of how well the defense played or how the Broncos got “lucky.” The bottom line is, the Broncos played better as a team when Tebow was at quarterback, whether he motivated them to do so or if they felt like they had to.

The New York Jets, in making this trade, have essentially put Mark Sanchez on short notice. The first round pick from 2009 has his job on the line and I think he will lose it by week seven or sooner if he and the Jets don’t get off to a very good start, meaning likely four or five wins in that time-frame.

There is not so much pressure down in South Beach on Ryan Tannehill to perform right away, but he likely will be thrown into the mix sooner than most people think. Matt Moore has played admirable but he’s not the long-term answer. We saw it work out last year with Christian Ponder and Cam Newton as rookies in the NFL, and the same could happen for Tannehill.

The former Texas A&M star will likely be handed the reins to the Dolphins’ offense by mid-season unless the Dolphins are unstoppable at that point, because this organization is ready to take that next step with their new regime.

There won’t be shuffling at the quarterback position in New England, but after that, all bets are off in the AFC East.