Tim Tebow's role with Jets undefined

Tim Tebow came to Florham Park eager to please.

He made it clear he sees himself as a starting quarterback, but in the same breath, the former Bronco voiced his willingness to do whatever it takes to fit into the Jets' offensive schemes.

And it's become increasingly clear the Jets are determined to put his versatility to the test.

The Jets still aren't 100 percent sure how they plan to use Tebow, who brings a unique and rather unorthodox skill set to the quarterback position. Brought in under the guise of being Mark Sanchez's backup and the Jets' Wildcat facilitator, Tebow's duties quickly expanded to include special-teams assignments.

Tebow has embraced his myriad roles publicly and downplayed any displeasure at being just a backup.

"One of my favorite quotes is, 'I don't know what my future holds but I know who holds my future,' " Tebow said during minicamp.

"That is how I try to handle everything. I am not too worried about being the man; I am just worried about being the best man I can be."

Tebow supplanted Kyle Orton as starting quarterback last October and led the Broncos to a first-round playoff win over the Steelers. Despite his desire to be a team player, make no mistake: Tebow wants to be the Jets' starting quarterback. Back in March, he smiled for the throng of television cameras at his introductory news conference and said: "Whatever my role is, however I can expand that role, I'm going to try to do that."

So if Sanchez, who threw a career-high 26 touchdown passes last season, along with 18 interceptions, regresses, will the coaching staff and Jets fans clamor to see Tebow take the reins? Well, that, too, remains to be seen.

Although it's clear Sanchez is the starter for the foreseeable future, it's uncertain how much the Jets plan to use him. Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson confirmed Tuesday on an NFL.com podcast that the team's "still in the planning stage and we're kind of making all those decisions" as far as Tebow goes.

At best, Tebow's ever-changing roles will give defenses fits. Or perhaps his fluid assignments -- which at this point range from quarterback, Wildcat director, running back/halfback and special teamer -- will complicate what should be simpler offensive schemes under new coordinator Tony Sparano.

Even though the Jets were second in red-zone efficiency last season (scoring touchdowns 65.4 percent of the time with Sanchez at the helm), Tebow's size, strong arm and elusiveness give Sparano another weapon in play-action and red-zone situations -- as long as Tebow's throwing mechanics have improved.

"He is getting better and better every single day," Sparano said during OTAs. "Every day I see a ball come off of his hand that is better than it was yesterday."