Tim Tebow officially joined the Jets on Saturday at 4 p.m. once his contract was removed from the Broncos salary cap.
Now, the fun begins.
The most discussed transaction in Jets history becomes more than just talk-show fodder. His first official appearance comes tomorrow at noon when the team will hold an introductory press conference at its headquarters in Florham Park.
How big is Tebow? The Jets don’t even have a room big enough to hold all of the media that will attend. The press conference will take place inside their fieldhouse, where their indoor practice field is. The Jets have never used this area for a press event before.
All of the attention on Tebow has some Jets shaking their heads. Several current Jets, who spoke with The Post on Saturday, asked not to be quoted but expressed disbelief at the team bringing in Tebow.
The idea of a backup quarterback having a press conference is something they can’t wrap their heads around, and they know it’s just the beginning.
Former Jets lineman Damien Woody, now an ESPN analyst, said the team has contradicted itself this week. The Jets keep saying Tebow is just a backup quarterback, but then they play into the circus-element of acquiring him with things like Monday’s spectacle that will be broadcast on several TV stations.
“How many times has a backup quarterback had a press conference?” Woody said. “How many times have there been helicopters to meet a backup quarterback at the airport? The organization is saying he’s the backup quarterback. Well, then why do you feel like you have to have a press conference? Why not just do a conference call and call it a day?
“It’s a marketing ploy.”
Woody’s opinions were in line with several of the players interviewed. Woody said he thinks the Jets have no idea what they are getting into.
“It could be very disruptive,” he said. “It’s not Tebow’s fault. I just think that after everything that happened last year you would think they would just go about things in a quiet, businesslike manner. Then, to do something like this … to me, it just reeks of them trying to get headlines.”
Starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, who will be affected more than anyone on the team, has yet to make a public statement. But someone close to him said yesterday that he is handling Tebow’s arrival fine. Sanchez is a team-oriented player who almost always says the right things. It would be shocking if he ever expressed any doubts about what the organization is doing.
Others around the locker room seem more skeptical. The biggest questions the players have are similar to those fans have expressed this week: How are they going to run two offenses? Why do this if the organization believes in Sanchez? What happens when the MetLife Stadium crowd starts chanting for Tebow?
“There’s going to be questions every single day to Rex and all the players,” former Jets coach Eric Mangini said on ESPN Radio this week. “Is Tim being used properly? Is he going to get any reps in practice? The first Wildcat play that he runs in training camp or OTAs that the media is there for. That’s all going to be big stuff. You’re going to have to deal with that ongoing distraction whether you like it or not.”
The players fear the worst could come this fall with a divided locker room, Sanchez sapped of confidence and Tebow playing a bigger role despite being a lesser passer. It is difficult to find anyone outside of general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan who feels optimistic about this move.
“How do you manage a natural disaster?” Woody said. “People say they’re preparing for an earthquake. No, you’re not. There’s no way to prepare for it. Once it happens, it creates devastation. It’s the same thing here. They talk about being prepared for it. No, you’re not because you’ve never experienced it before. They have no idea.”
brian.costello@nypost.com