It’s been more than eight years since Tim Tebow last took an NFL snap, but he can still cause a stir or a mania, if you will, like few can.
Just prior to the kickoff of the 2021 NFL Draft, Tebowmania 2.0 began to stir when it was reported the Jacksonville Jaguars and first-year head coach Urban Meyer — Tebow’s college coach at Florida — were flirting with the idea of bringing the 33-year-old in for a shot at playing tight end.
And on Monday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tebow was coming to Duval, expected to sign a contract this week or the next.
With many an eyebrow raised and a jaw dropped at the Tebow turn of events, speculation has rumbled and stumbled — much like Tebow’s highlight-reel runs from autumns ago — as to why the Jaguars would travel down this publicity-frenzied road. For Meyer, it was quite simply how Tebow looked in his workouts, which was impressive and years younger than he actually is, that led to him giving his former quarterback a chance at an unlikely comeback.
“We have not signed Tim,” Meyer clarified on the Cris Collinsworth PFF Podcast. “There’s a thought going around. He was in the best shape of his life, asked to see if he could work out with a couple of our coaches. I wasn’t even there. They came back to me and said, ‘Wow, this guy’s in incredible shape.’ Then I went another time and watched them try him out. And they said go work on these things, he comes back later. They try him out again, I’m not there, they come in and they said, ‘Wow, this guy’s ball skills, he’s a great athlete, he looks like he’s 18-years-old, not 20, whatever he is, 33. I said, ‘Guys you don’t understand, now this guy is, he’s the most competitive maniac you’re ever gonna talk to and let’s give it a shot.'”
And therein lies the genesis of Tebow’s improbable journey back into the NFL spotlight, years removed from his last games played and his quest to be an NFL QB.