When Tim Tebow was released by the New York Jets last month, we immediately cooked up our list of potential landing spots for the fourth-year quarterback.
Including the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders as options for Tebow, we admittedly left off one probable destination: Nowhere.
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David Fleming of ESPN The Magazine reported Friday that members of Tebow's camp are "privately admitting that his NFL run is probably over."
But a source who speaks to Tebow regularly told NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, "It's not true."
Rapoport even checked in with a source closer to home, Bob Tebow. When asked about the ESPN report, Tim's father replied, "You are old enough to not believe all you hear."
Whether or not people close to Tebow question his future in the league, the quarterback has not given up hope of playing again.
Said one NFC scout: "He's not a quarterback. When you look at his run two years ago, when you watch the tape and break it down, he wasn't really doing anything that impressive. He's a tough guy, a great leader, a great person. But he isn't a good enough quarterback to have all the distractions that come with him."
Tebow the Man has earned respect around the NFL, but Tebow the Football Player has watched his well dry up. Teams can't seem to get past his spotty mechanics under center or the radioactive media train that trails him. It was telling last season that the Jets, after surveying Tebow in practice week after week, only diminished his role on offense as New York's corpse of a season was dragged to the finish line.
When the Jets declare that a quarterback can't help them, his future is decidedly grim. It seemed possible that one team -- even just one -- would take a chance on Tebow, but the desire is nonexistent.
Teams don't want to make a tight end out of Tebow when they can sign one minus the distraction. And you can't plug him in at quarterback unless you're prepared to fully tailor your offense to what he offers.
"There's no going halfway with Tebow anymore," former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "You either gotta sell out and give him the keys to your team or stay away. Because, unfortunately, there's too much attention for him to be a regular, developing backup like everyone else."
Tebow's fame -- which he didn't ask for -- hasn't helped. But his on-field performance hasn't done him any favors, either. It's not to say Tebow will never play again -- far stranger events have taken place -- but his days as a starting quarterback appear all but over.
Update: A person who has spoken at length with Tebow about his NFL prospects told USA Today Sports' Mike Garafolo that Tebow "isn't ready to give up, retire or look to head to the Canadian Football League or Arena Football League."
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
