Keller "confused" by Tebow trade
Quarterback Tim Tebow addresses the media as he is introduced as a New York Jet at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, N.J. (March 26, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
The Tebow trade caught just about everybody off guard, including Dustin Keller.
The Jets tight end -- and good buddy of starting quarterback Mark Sanchez -- sat down recently with “SiriusXM Blitz” hosts Adam Schein and Jim Miller (who is on the phone) during a live broadcast from the NFL pop-up store.
And he was asked about -- who else? -- Tim Tebow.
“Honestly, I was a little confused at first,” Keller said of the trade. “We brought in Drew Stanton to be our backup so I was kind of confused when that whole thing happened. But they traded away Drew and now Tim’s our second guy, obviously because they figured, as a backup quarterback, if something happened to Mark (Sanchez) who would give us a better chance to win. And Tim’s that guy. But, also at the same time, with the Wildcat and all those different things, he gives us a whole new dimension. So I’m excited to see how it plays out.”
It remains to be seen whether Tebow will be used similarly to the Jets previous Wildcat guy, Brad Smith. But, based on what coach Rex Ryan has said, it’s obvious Tebow will get lot of playing for a backup.
“Rex made that pretty evident; he said up to 20 snaps so we’ll see how coach Sparano handles that,” said the tight end.
Keller told Schein and Miller that Sanchez’s confidence hasn’t waned in light of the Tebow trade. He also didn’t foresee any locker room rifts when it comes to who the starting quarterback should be -- a la, Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson.
GM Mike Tannenbaum and Ryan have reiterated to the media that Sanchez is their starting QB. And “If they’re saying Mark’s the guy,” said Keller. “You have to take their word for it.”
Here's the video link.
