Tim Tebow Appears to Have Won Spot on Eagles Roster — and Twitter Is Reacting

PHILADELPHIA (TheBlaze/AP) — Looks like Tim Tebow made Matt Barkley expendable.

The Philadelphia Eagles traded Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, clearing a roster spot for Tebow after he apparently won a preseason competition for the No. 3 quarterback job.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow (11) leaves the field after a preseason NFL football game against the New York Jets Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Jets won 24-18. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Arizona sent a conditional seventh-round draft pick to Philadelphia for Barkley. A person familiar with the deal said Barkley has to be on the roster for six games for the Eagles to receive the pick in 2016. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that part of the trade wasn't announced.

Tebow outplayed Barkley in the preseason and will play behind Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez unless coach Chip Kelly makes a surprise move this weekend.

Tebow was 11 for 17 for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception against the New York Jets on Thursday night. Barkley was 4 for 9 for 45 yards and one interception.

Tebow last played in a regular-season game with the Jets in 2012. He was cut by New England in training camp in 2013. He worked as a college football analyst on the SEC Network last year, but got another chance to play in the NFL when the Eagles signed him in the offseason.

The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner led Florida to the national championship his junior season and was a first-round pick by Denver in 2010. He started 16 games during two seasons with the Broncos, including a playoff victory over Pittsburgh in January 2012. Tebow was traded to the Jets after Denver signed Peyton Manning.

"It's a blessing to be able to play the game that I love," Tebow said after the final preseason game. "Sometimes when things are taken away, you realize how much you really love it, and sometimes you love it more after that. So it's not necessarily coming back, but the time away that makes you love it more."

Twitter users issued strong reactions after the news.

Some were happy:

Gotta say congrats to #TimTebow - NFL can't have enough #GreatGuys or #Underdogs - our league just got better!

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) September 4, 2015

Some were not:

Eagles just traded Matt Barkley. That means we're stuck with Tim Tebow. Why me?

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) September 4, 2015

But either way, it appears Tebow at least will be on the sidelines this season. Which means anything can happen:

ALERT THERE IS A SLIM BUT VERY REAL CHANCE ~TIM TEBOW~ COULD BE AN ~NFL STARTING QB~ WITHIN IN A FEW MONTHS' TIME https://t.co/0C68m3NLat

— Sam Laird (@samcmlaird) September 4, 2015

This story has been updated.

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Follow Dave Urbanski (@DaveVUrbanski) on Twitter