With hours to go before the 2021 NFL Draft starts, some people can still steal headlines beyond draft buzz and trade speculation. To that end, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported on Thursday that Tim Tebow recently had a workout with the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a tight end.
Tebow last played regular season football with the New York Jets in 2012. In recent years he has been working as an analyst for ESPN, and pursuing a baseball dream in the New York Mets’ organization. He retired from baseball in February.
As his NFL opportunities waned, with failed opportunities to earn 53-man roster spots with the Patriots and Eagles, Tebow resisted the idea he was anything other than a quarterback (apparently he hadn’t watched himself throw). So this pivot to being a tight end now is notable, in some sense.
Why Signing Tim Tebow Makes Sense For The Jaguars
Tebow made his name as a record-setting, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Florida. New Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer was the Gators’ head coach then, so the idea Tebow would reunite with Meyer on Jacksonville’s coaching staff was out there a bit.
A 1-15 Jaguars’ team from 2020 needs all the talent it can get. So on that front, whatever football ability Tebow might still have at 33 years old (34 in August) is worth seeing about. The nuances of blocking can be coached up, as can the mechanics of catching the football as a tight end/h-back type. If Tebow can somewhat throw the ball, he could be a multi-purpose weapon/threat for a few snaps a game.
The Jaguars will be making a big bet on Trevor Lawrence Thursday night. If anyone can deal with the distractions Tebow comes with it’s Meyer, so there might be more than a token headline here. The Jaguars are also the only place Tebow will get any chance to play football again, if it goes any further or for however long it lasts.
