By Hays Carlyon
The Jaguars have never been this compelling.
Ever.
The franchise has gone from an outfit devoid of star power for much of its existence to now being the most fascinating team in the NFL.
Urban Meyer is here: A three-time national championship winning coach making his NFL debut.
Trevor Lawrence is here: The national champion quarterback considered the best pro prospect in nearly a decade.
And now, Tim Tebow is here.
Tebow is a Jaguar. What?!?! The team announced the signing after more than a week of reports and speculation that Meyer would bring in his Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at Florida.
Tebow is here to play tight end. A position he’s never played. In a league he hasn’t played a regular season game in since 2012. Oh, and he’s turning 34 in August.
“I want to thank the Jaguars for the opportunity to compete and earn the chance to be part of this team,” Tebow said in a statement released by the team. “I know it will be a challenge, but it is a challenge I embrace. I am dedicated to taking the direction of our coaching staff and learning from my teammates. I appreciate everyone’s support as I embark on this new journey.”
Obviously, it’s a long shot that Tebow will be able to do this well enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Guess what? There are 25 other players on this current 90-man roster that are massive longshots to make it as well. That means there are still a dozen players that have a realistic shot at the 53 that will also be released.
This is longshot season.
However, the star power he brings the Jaguars is undeniable. Tebow has 4.5 million followers on Twitter. Kansas City phenom Patrick Mahomes has 1.9 million.
Does that win you games? No.
Is that why the Jaguars are signing Tebow? No.
Will Tebow help the Jaguars win games? Probably not.
Still, just enjoy it.
Enjoy that the Jaguars are the center of the NFL universe for now. Yes, many of the comments you hear nationally will be of ridicule but enjoy the attention.
This isn’t going to hurt Meyer’s credibility. If Tebow can’t do this, he will be cut.
Meyer isn’t going to force feed a role to Tebow if he can’t play.
Once Tebow is cut, the locker room will quickly move on.
That’s the NFL.
I hope Tebow makes it. I hope he’s outstanding. But I also hope for world peace, knowing there’s no chance I’ll ever see it.
For now, I’ll enjoy the ride. You should as well.
You’ve survived a decade that outside of 2017 was dull.
These Jaguars are anything but that.
Meyer and Lawrence will greatly shape the next decade.
Not Tebow.
But for now, he’s an equally fascinating storyline.
You might not like this signing.
But you can’t deny that you’ll be riveted to hear all the details of how Tebow looks.
You’ll be riveted to make your own observations if training camp practices are hopefully open to fans. You’ll be locked in when he’s on the field in preseason games.
Just enjoy it.
Embrace it.
Tebow is a Jaguar.
George Foreman won the heavyweight title at 45.
Be this generation’s George Foreman, Tim.
Amaze us.
I’m pulling for you.
(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon)
