Tebow opens Jaguars training camp as just ‘1 of 90’ players

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Tim Tebow is one of the first to arrive at Jacksonville Jaguars practice. He jogs onto the field, stretches a little, catches footballs from a Jugs machine, then finds his usual spot in the team’s warmup lines. He’s waaaay in the back, just in front of a rookie.

Tebow’s far from the spotlight, right where coach Urban Meyer wants the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner for now.

“It’s one of 90 trying to make the team,” Meyer says.

Tebow will open training camp Wednesday as Jacksonville’s fourth- or fifth-string tight end, not all that surprising given he’s closing in on his 34th birthday; started playing the position five months ago; and is trying to return to the NFL after spending the previous five years in the New York Mets’ organization.

He asked Meyer, his college coach at nearby Florida, for a tryout after retiring from baseball in January. Meyer obliged and ended up giving him a oneyear contract worth $920,000 (U.S.), the minimum for a player with three accrued NFL seasons. The low-risk deal includes no guaranteed money, so Tebow would have to make the team to earn a dime.

And that’s the uncertain part. Jacksonville already has three tight ends essentially locked into roster spots

The Jaguars have offered little information about Tebow’s transition, partly because they don’t want the former star quarterback becoming a daily distraction.

The six-foot-three, 245pounder has always been one of the more imposing guys on the field — big, strong and eager to run over anyone in his path.

No matter what he does, he’s sure to still have doubters.