Tim Tebow reportedly will sign with Patriots

Apparently Bill Belichick wasn’t lying when he said the report that he hated Tim Tebow was untrue and baseless. How do we know? Because ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that the New England Patriots are signing Tebow and expect him to be in camp on Tuesday.

Werder says that Belichick “has always spoken of Tebow with admiration.” Werder also notes that the move reunites Tebow with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who traded up to draft the Heisman Trophy winner when he was the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2010.

The Patriots reportedly have already released quarterback Mike Kafka to make room for Tebow on the roster.

Tebow’s last start as a quarterback came in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs when his Broncos were spanked by the Pats 45-10. Tebow led the Broncos to the AFC West title that season after taking over as the team’s starting quarterback midseason. The Broncos went 7-4 with Tebow as the starter, and they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round of the playoffs before losing to the Pats.

Belichick is close with Urban Meyer, who was Tebow’s college coach at Florida. Belichick has always spoke highly of Tebow’s character and work ethic. Now he gets to have him on his team.

One upcoming change for Tebow will deal with his number. Backup quarterback Ryan Mallett wears jersey No. 15, so Tebow might have to pick a new one.

Another fun note to this story is that the Patriots play the Jets on Thursday Sept. 2 to kick off Week 2. The Jets acquired Tebow in a trade last year, but they hardly used him and ultimately released him after the season.