There was much ado about a report from ESPN The Magazine’s David Fleming on Friday that said Tim Tebow’s camp privately believes the quarterback’s NFL career is over. Even if some members of his inner circle believe that is the case, the former Heisman Trophy reportedly is not ready to give up on his NFL career, no surprise.
NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport said on “Total Access” on Friday afternoon that Tebow has no plans to retire and that he is working to remain in the NFL.
“I have no doubt people in Tim Tebow’s inner circle do believe that he has seen his last chance in the NFL. What I can tell you is Tim Tebow himself does not believe that. He has no plans to retire. He wants to play next year. He wants to play quarterback, and he wants to play in the NFL. He hasn’t ruled out a CFL bid yet, but he does have his site set on the NFL now. He is working out at IMG Academy doing his best to try and be ready for the 2013 season,” said Rapoport.
Rapoport says the big issue is that teams are not interested in Tebow because of a combination of a lack of skills and the media circus he brings.
“I have not found a team interested in signing him, and if there is a team interested, they’ve remained hidden from essentially everyone,” said Rapoport.
USA Today’s Mike Garafolo reported similar thoughts. He says Tebow is not ready to give up on the NFL nor consider other leagues. Garafolo’s source also denied the ESPN report. Another interesting tidbit from Garafolo is that Tebow and his camp do not plan to respond to the report because they understand the media frenzy Tebow creates is a turn off to teams, so they are looking to stay under the radar.
If there is anything we have learned about Tebow it’s that the man has tremendous confidence in himself. There is no way he would consider retiring, switching positions, or trying another league when he helped his team win a division and playoff game just two seasons ago. Common sense could tell you that.
