Tim Tebow turned 25 on Tuesday.
It will be an important year for the New York Jets' backup quarterback, whose NFL career enters a strange state of limbo in his third professional season.
Tebow is the most famous player on his team. He's probably the most famous athlete in America. But he has no starting job, no defined role. One team has already kicked him to the curb. His new team treats him as little more than a roster curiosity at this point.
He struggled in Tuesday's practice, going 2-for-9 and taking one sack, according to the New York Daily News.
That's mostly meaningless, and there's always the chance the angry scrambles we saw against the Bengals on Friday night could energize the Meadowlands and give Rex Ryan pause. But for now, Mark Sanchez's job has never been more secure.
And yet, Tebow remains a huge figure in popular culture, far bigger than Sanchez will ever be. Tebow recently declined to be part of a photo shoot or interview for GQ, so the popular men's magazine simply resurfaced an image from his college days at Florida and plastered it on the front their September issue.
Not even Tebow can control Tebowmania. Happy birthday to you.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
