visit with the Buffalo Bills included a dinner with Hall of Fame
quarterback Jim Kelly.
Kelly, who has talked up Tebow over the past
few months, had dinner with the Florida quarterback on Sunday night,
Kelly's spokeswoman Tricia Cavalier said Monday. It's unclear whether
the dinner occurred before or after the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner met
with the team.
Kelly was traveling and unavailable for
comment. Kelly's wife, Jill, first revealed that her husband and Tebow
had dinner in a post on her Twitter account Sunday night.
Referring to her husband as "JK," Jill Kelly
noted the dinner and wrote: "Here's one thing JK said about Tebow. 'He's
a class act and a great guy.'"
The Bills, who confirmed but did not discuss
Tebow's visit, have previously expressed interest in the quarterback.
Last week, coach Chan Gailey lauded Tebow,
saying, "Tim has every intangible that you could ever want in a
quarterback." Gailey, however, then raised a familiar question about
Tebow's unorthodox delivery and whether he can adjust it to succeed at
the NFL level.
"If you go with the delivery he had, he will
really struggle in this league," Gailey said.
Tebow has spent much of the offseason
developing a more efficient throwing motion.
At a charitable function in January, Kelly
credited Tebow for having great character and being someone who is
self-motivated. Kelly stopped short of saying he favored Tebow playing
for Buffalo, noting that would be up to the team's coaches and scouts to
do their homework.
Tebow is projected to be a late first- or
second-round pick in the draft next month. The Bills hold the ninth
overall pick, followed by No. 41.
The Bills have gone through a revolving door
at quarterback since Kelly retired following the 1996 season. Trent
Edwards lost his starting job midway through last season and was
replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Gailey, who took over in January after Dick
Jauron was fired, has said he expects to have an open competition
between Edwards, Fitzpatrick and third-stringer Brian Brohm. Gailey also
didn't rule out the team acquiring a quarterback through a trade or the
draft.