Sports briefs: Patriots cut Tim Tebow; 49ers cut ex-BYU receiver Austin Collie

NFL • A Heisman Trophy, a riveting playoff game, an international following.

Tim Tebow won all that in his football career.

On Saturday, he lost his third NFL job in 18 months. It might be hard to find another.

The quarterback with two big problems — throwing the ball and reading defenses — was cut by the New England Patriots less than 12 weeks after they signed him and just five days before the season.

For six weeks no team wanted him until the Patriots signed him to a low-risk, two-year contract June 11 with no guaranteed money. One person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press that Tebow would make the veteran's minimum salary, $630,000 in 2013, with incentives.

Tebow's last play with the Patriots, and perhaps in the NFL, was a 9-yard touchdown to rookie free agent Quentin Sims with six seconds left in a 28-20 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night.

With two scoring passes, it was the best of Tebow's three games during a shaky preseason in which he completed 11 of 30 passes for 145 yards and ran 16 times for 91 yards.

49ers • Ex-BYU receiver Austin Colle, 27, was released. Collie played four season in Indianapolis, catching 173 passes and 16 touchdowns. But he played only one game last season after rupturing a patellar tendon in Week 3. "No worries. The #comeback train isn't stoppin. Was a great opportunity 4 me to get back into playin shape & get my knee/body ready 4 season," Collie tweeted Saturday afternoon.

Steelers • Heath Miller's surgically repaired right knee is good to go. Jonathan Dwyer's slimmed down body, not so much. Pittsburgh activated Miller, their two-time Pro Bowl tight end, off the physically unable to perform list, clearing the way for Miller to play in the season opener against Tennessee on Sept. 8. Dwyer was cut despite leading the Steelers with 623 yards rushing a year ago. He entered training camp in a three-way battle with Isaac Redman and Le'Veon Bell for the starting job.

Johnson scores to lead Seattle

Major League Soccer • Eddie Johnson scored in the 14th minute to lift the Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 victory against the host Columbus Crew despite playing down a man for 83 minutes.

Johnson gave Seattle (12-8-4) the lead on a header off a 35-yard free kick by Mauro Rosales for his seventh goal.

Sporting Kansas City 2, Rapids 1 • Graham Zusi scored in the 88th minute to lift host Kansas City past Colorado and into a three-way tie for first place in the Eastern Conference. Benny Feilhaber also scored for Sporting (12-9-6).

Red Bulls 2, D.C. United 1 • Lloyd Sam and Tim Cahill scored to lead New York over the last-place United.

The host Red Bulls (12-9-6) moved into a tie with Montreal for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Staff and wire reports