The Philadelphia Eagles have released veteran quarterback Tim Tebow, ending his latest comeback attempt and perhaps his NFL career.

Tebow was thought to have made the cut as the team's No. 3 quarterback after the Eagles' coach Chip Kelly announced on Friday that the team had dealt Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals. But just hours later that all changed.

"We felt Tim has progressed, but we didn't feel he was good enough to be the (No.) 3 right now," Kelly told ESPN. The move leaves Kelly and the Eagles with two quarterbacks, starter Sam Bradford and veteran Mark Sanchez, for their upcoming season opener.

Kelly later added, "Tebow really improved his throwing motion from when he was throwing a couple of years ago. He worked extremely hard on it and deserves a lot of credit for that. I talked to him a little earlier [Saturday] when we released him. He just needs to get more playing time."

As always, Tebow took the graceful way out, thanking the Eagles on Twitter for the experience.

Meanwhile, Kelly said the Eagles may still be in the market for another quarterback, and it's even possible Tebow might be called back if either Bradford or Sanchez gets hurt. He can also come back after the season opener, but his contract won't be guaranteed.

"We are not done," Kelly said. "There could be a third quarterback. We'll see what happens with the waiver wire. Whether we add a quarterback to the active roster or the practice squad, we'll see."

In his last action for the Eagles against his former New York Jets, Tebow was an impressive 11 of 17 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

The former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion last played in a regular-season NFL game with the Jets in December, 2012. He was cut by New England in training camp in 2013, and last year worked as a college football analyst on ESPN's SEC Network.