It looked like Tim Tebow’s dreams of an NFL comeback finally had died. Then Chip Kelly came calling.
Tebow signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in late April, reviving an NFL career that appeared to die on the New England Patriots’ practice fields in summer 2013.
Tebow is one of four quarterbacks on the Eagles’ depth chart, so whether he even makes it past training camp remains unclear. Yet Kelly has said he wants four signal-callers on his roster, and if anyone can put Tebow’s “unique” skill set to use, it’s the inventive head coach.
But was Kelly’s decision to roll the dice on Tebow more than just an experiment?
For The Win’s Chris Chase believes so. In a column Friday morning, Chase offered a bold theory for why Kelly snatched up the former Florida Gator: to use him as a distraction.
“Eagles OTAs on Thursday originally would have featured a hostile media, ready to have a feeding frenzy about Kelly’s offseason moves,” Chase wrote. “Instead, it turned into a circus about Tim Tebow. Other than covering a quote of Kelly responding to LeSean McCoy’s allegations of racism … every national outlet focused on Tebow and Tebow only.”
It’s an interesting theory, as Kelly has taken some heat after McCoy’s incendiary comments, which came after the head coach controversially parted with a number of star players. Tebow has the ability to draw attention no matter where he goes, even managing to draw some eyes away from Aaron Hernandez’s arrest while he was with the Patriots.
In the end, though, the theory that Tebow is Kelly’s “human shield” seems unlikely. Kelly and the Eagles signed Tebow well before McCoy’s comments surfaced, and the former Oregon coach seems determined to try everything he can to bring the Eagles success. Tebow most likely is just Kelly’s latest shot in the dark.
Thumbnail photo via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
