New York Jets coach Rex Ryan said Friday that backup quarterback Tim Tebow's status will be a game-time decision this week against the Arizona Cardinals because of his fractured ribs.
A report from ESPN's Ed Werder, however, suggested the decision has been made. The report claimed the Jets have "made plans" to designate Tebow as inactive for the game. No. 3 quarterback Greg McElroy would back up Mark Sanchez in that scenario. The New York Post reported the same information on Tebow.
"It could be true (that Tebow will be inactive), but right now, we haven't done anything," Ryan said, via The Associated Press. "I haven't made that decision or anyone else made that decision. Whether there's speculation or not, that's a decision that I haven't made."
You might think this is a lot of reporting for a backup quarterback's status, but it could have been much worse. We were prepared to do a breaking news banner if Ryan ruled out Tebow. For some reason, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich's injury status wasn't treated the same way.
Leftwich will miss another game, by the way, because of his injured ribs. Brian Hoyer will be the Steelers' backup quarterback this week. Breaking news!
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
