Urban Meyer has decided to give Tim Tebow a chance to revive his NFL career after nearly a decade away from football. Most people agree that Tebow has virtually no chance of contributing as a tight end with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But if Tebow is simply included on the final roster, one former NFL executive thinks Urban Meyer will be making a mammoth mistake.
Former New York Jets and Miami Dolphins general manager and executive VP of football operations Mike Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s “Get Up!” this week that Meyer is going to have a tough time facing players in the locker room if Tebow is on the Week 1 roster.
"If [Tim Tebow] makes this team, it's just gonna really hurt Urban's ability to stand up in front of the team and say 'Hey, how you play matters."
—@RealTannenbaum pic.twitter.com/dEuZ4D7Swd
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 14, 2021
“If Tim Tebow’s on the opening day roster, it will eviscerate Urban Meyer’s credibility. Houston, Indianapolis and Tennessee are praying that Tim Tebow makes the Jacksonville Jaguars. If that organization is run based on relationships, they have no chance to win,” Tannenbaum said. “This is about Trevor Lawrence and trying to do everything you can to make him successful — not trying to turn a 34-year-old Tim Tebow into a tight end.
“If he makes this team, it’s gonna really hurt Urban’s ability to stand up in front of the team and say, ‘Hey, how you play matters.’ It simply won’t. It’ll be based on a relationship.”
Tannenbaum noted that backup skill position players in the NFL are expected to play on special teams, which probably is not something Meyer would have Tebow do. For reasons like that, the Jaguars could have issues regarding whether Tebow is receiving preferential treatment from his friend and former coach.
Meyer recently tried to explain some of his rationale behind signing Tebow, but the questions remain. It’s going to be very hard for the first-year NFL coach to argue that Tebow, who has never played tight end and has been out of the NFL since 2012, is the best man for the job.
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