Pittsburgh Steelers Rumors: Tim Tebow Could Take Over For An Ineffective Michael Vick

The Pittsburgh Steelers are rumored to be looking for some quarterback help, with reports that Tim Tebow could be in play after the injury to Ben Roethlisberger and some ineffective play from veteran fill-in Michael Vick.

Roethlisberger is out for the next month or so after being hit low by St. Louis Rams safety Mark Barron last week. Roethlisberger’s leg twisted awkwardly, and many believed he may have torn an ACL.

Roethlisberger said he felt like it was broken at first.

“Initially, my knee, my leg, everything hurt,” Roethlisberger said, via CBS Sports. “Eventually, my knee started to feel better, but as I was going off the field I told the doc I feel like my leg is broke. It felt really bad. What they concluded was that was the two bones smacking together that caused the bone bruise. That’s what I felt initially.”

The prognosis ended up being a bit more bright, but it still kept Roethlisberger out for a critical stretch and forced the Pittsburgh Steelers to turn to Michael Vick, the 36-year-old who looked shaky last season when he was forced into action for the New York Jets.

Vick looked equally ineffective on Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, hitting 19 of his 26 pass attempts but for just 126 yards. Vick also ran nine times for 33 yards but lacked the explosiveness that made him such a difficult player to defend in the past. He also missed on two key fourth-down plays, including a bad pass toward Antonio Brown.

After the game, Vick said he knew he needed to play better.

“We had chances to win the game,” he said, via the Sporting News. “I had plays I could have made but didn’t.”

“In the fourth quarter, I thought… I really thought that we kind of sealed the deal. Hey, things happen in this league. We’ve all got to find ways to fix it. If you don’t you won’t last long in this league.

“Ultimately, I think at the end of the day, that fourth-and-1 pass (to Brown has) still got to be made, somehow, some way. That’s it.”

But now there are rumors that the Pittsburgh Steelers may be looking for more help, with Tim Tebow a name coming up in conversation. The Steelers have Landry Jones as backup to Vick, and even if he were not the starter, Tebow could at least offer a backup with the potential to do some of the damage that Vick was once able to do with his legs.

SportsBlog.com even called for Tim Tebow to join the Pittsburgh Steelers as soon as Ben Roethlisberger went down.

“If Ben Roethlisberger is out for the season, then Tim Tebow would be the perfect backup for Michael Vick. Both Vick and Tim Tebow are left handed mobile quarterbacks and unlike the very fragile Vick, Tim Tebow is as tough as a tank.

“If Vick goes down, then Tim Tebow could help the Steelers running game because a running quarterback actually helps open lanes for running backs. Of course the Steelers high octane passing attack would suffer with Tim Tebow at the helm but Tebow would be a good fit to backup Michael Vick if Ben is done for the season. I don’t think the Steelers are comfortable with Landry Jones at quarterback or they would not have signed Michael Vick to start with.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers have not been the only team rumored to be interested in Tim Tebow. Other reports claimed the Dallas Cowboys were interested after the injury to Tony Romo, but Dallas ended up trading for veteran Matt Cassel as a backup to Brandon Weeden.

[Images via Brett Carlsen, Rich Schultz/Getty Images]