Should the Arizona Cardinals Call Tim Tebow Up?

You can laugh, you can mock, you can jeer. The fact is, I can only think of one quarterback under the age of 30 who is currently on the open market for NFL teams to sign that has a playoff win under his belt, and a division title as a starter as well with a number of fourth quarter comeback wins.

That quarterback is, of course, Tim Tebow, one of the most controversial and debated football players in the last decade plus who played his last football as a member of the New York Jets. So, anytime a quarterback position becomes available in the NFL, you just have to ask.

The Arizona Cardinals are currently in desperation mode after losing Carson Palmer for the entire season, then on Thursday night losing Drew Stanton to a sprained MCL and PCL against the St. Louis Rams. The Cardinals turned to former San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley, who was able to hold the fort down while the Cardinals clawed their way to a 12-6 win over their NFC West foe.

Bruce Arians has the unenviable decision of going with either Ryan Lindley or rookie Logan Thomas in next week’s huge matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, which, if the Seahawks win this weekend could end up deciding the division.

The Cardinals are hopeful Stanton can return from his latest injury, but there is serious doubt as to when he will play again. At worst, the Cardinals need another backup option and someone that can come in and provide assistance in an emergency situation if need be.

At this point in the year, it seems like a long shot that a team like Arizona and with an offense like Bruce Arians’ would call up a player off the street to come be their starter at the quarterback position, so I don’t think Arizona would necessarily be looking to do something like that. What they do need is to figure out a way to get someone in there that can learn as much as possible in a short amount of time as they prep for the playoffs.

The Cardinals currently have the best record in the NFL at 11-3. Somehow, some way, they have managed to win 11 games and take a lead in the NFC West with the Seahawks and 49ers lurking behind.

Stanton would obviously be the preferred option for Arizona at this point, due to the fact that he has started the majority of games for them this season, but going on to starter number three in the biggest game of the year next weekend is a pretty desperate situation.

After all, it’s the fourth quarter of the season and we all know that’s when Tim Tebow is most effective. All joking aside, it will be interesting to see what the Cardinals choose to do at the QB position, especially if it’s determined that Stanton is going to miss significant time. They won’t be able to realistically go into the playoffs with a chance of winning anything with Lindley or Thomas starting, and that could become painfully obvious next weekend.

Will the Cardinals call Tim Tebow? Probably not. Should they? Who knows at this point? Tebow has likely been working out and keeping in NFL shape as usual, and he’s probably been working with some quarterbacks guru to try to hone his craft if anyone should call. We all know how hard of a worker is, but the fact is that an NFL team doesn’t want to deal with the media distraction he brings. He was thrown into the worst possible situation with the New York Jets, who traded for him and never used him, but the problem for Tebow is that he was so inaccurate as a QB that NFL teams aren’t willing to take the risk.

Despite the fact that he made the biggest plays when the game was on the line, teams don’t view him as an upgrade over their third quarterbacks who can do pretty much the same thing throwing the ball.

As a fan of Tebow’s, you hope he would get a call from a team like Arizona that is desperate, but it doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.