Tony Khan on Tim Tebow: ‘Urban believes he can really help us’

The 2021 NFL Draft is now in the rear-view for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the team was able to add several contributors in the process. One area they weren’t able to address as aggressively as they wanted was tight end, though they acquired Luke Farrell, a blocking threat, in the fifth round.

With the need for a pass-catching athlete at the position, the Jags have many routes they can go, and one know route they’ve looked into is potential acquiring an option that isn’t in the NFL, specifically Tim Tebow. A report surfaced last Thursday from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, stating that the Jags were interested in Tebow.

Schefter’s report also went deeper into the details, stating that Tebow had worked out with Jags’ tight ends coach Tyler Bowen, who joined the staff this year. This led to Jags’ front office member and son of Shad Khan, Tony Khan being questioned recently about the former Gators quarterback on Bleacher Report’s Draft Wrap show, and while he couldn’t say much, he did express that Jags coach Urban Meyer had confidence in his former player.

“I can’t say too much, but Tim has come in and worked out as a tight end,” Khan said. “That’s not the position we’ve seen him play, but that’s the position that he’s been practicing at with us. So, that will be interesting to see how that contributes us on offense, too.

“But obviously, Urban knows Tim very well and Tim’s got a great history of winning and Urban really believes he can help us. I think it makes a lot of sense at a position where we need to get better.”

While nothing is set in stone, it sounds like Tebow has a chance to earn a contract before the Jags start their key offseason events. If it happens, it still feels unlikely that the 33-year-old would make the final 53-man roster after moving to a position he’s never played and being absent from football since 2015.

As many Jags fans are aware, Meyer coached Tebow at Florida from 2006-09, where they won a national title together in 2008. Eventually, Tebow’s success sent him to the NFL where he became a first-round selection for the Denver Broncos (2010). He was eventually traded to the New York Jets in 2012 and had two preseason stints with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, in 2013 and 2015.

After his football career, Tebow entered the professional baseball realm, reaching Class AAA in the minor leagues (for the New York Mets). This preseason, he made the Mets’ spring training roster but decided to retire in February.

The Jags’ interest comes as Meyer purchased a home on the same block as Tebow’s Jacksonville area home in the Glen Kernan Golf & Country Club. Earlier in the offseason, Meyer said he’s kept in touch with Tebow (and many other players he knew) over the years, so there was plenty of chances for the conversation about football to pop up.