Tebow more than a Quarterback?

When the Patriots signed Tim Tebow this past offseason, many wondered if Tebow would be brought on in a bigger capacity than just as a quarterback. With Tom Brady and Ryan Mallet ahead of him on the depth chart at his natural position, would it be so weird to think that Tebow may be on the field as a tight end or maybe even a fullback?

This week with training camp starting, the Patriots have tested out Tebow in both catching passes and running the ball. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who drafted Tebow with the Broncos in 2010, downplayed the situation.

To quote Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com:

“Anybody that is a potential runner, that can actually do something with the ball in his hands – something good – we always put them [in the drill],” McDaniels said. “I think Matt Cassel and [Doug] Flutie and some of those other guys that I’ve had a chance to coach, I think we did the same types of things with them. Again, certainly we know Tim has a skill set that some of these other guys don’t possess in terms of his ability to run with it, or scramble with it when he has it in his hands. He’s just practicing his open-field running [and] I know the defensive guys enjoy the challenge of trying to get him to the ground. I think it’s good for everybody and a normal procedure that we go through in training camp.”

With the injury to Rob Gronkowski and the loss of Aaron Hernandez, it might not be so crazy to think that Tebow could get reps this season in a non quarterback role. It will also give him the time to learn the offense under Brady, Belichick and McDaniels.

Michael Husson
@HussBus59