He’s baaaaaack.
Tim Tebow is returning to the NFL, at least on a trial basis, after Eagles coach Chip Kelly pulled off yet another head-scratching move by agreeing to sign the polarizing quarterback following two years of unwanted retirement.
A league source confirmed Fox Sports’ report Tebow will put his signature on a one-year deal Monday at the league minimum in time to reunite with Mark Sanchez for the start of Philadelphia’s offseason program the same day.
Tebow hasn’t taken a snap in a regular-season game since the Jets’ 2012 finale, but that couldn’t dissuade the unconventional Kelly from adding him to a quarterback stable that already includes Sanchez, the recently acquired Sam Bradford and Matt Barkley.
After his ill-fated year with the Jets and a preseason flameout with the Patriots in 2013, Tebow had spent the past two years unsigned but pining for a return while he bided his time as an analyst for ESPN’s SEC Network.
Tebow even worked for the past 18 months with Tom Brady’s quarterback guru, former MLB pitching coach Tom House, in California in an attempt to overhaul his woeful throwing mechanics and become more of a pro-style passer.
House said in an interview with Bleacher Report last month he’s confident Tebow has rid himself of his elongated, almost sidearmed throwing motion.
“I honestly believe that everybody who was trying to help Tim, everybody who thought they ‘fixed’ him, they probably did temporarily fix him,” House told the website. “But Tim didn’t have enough repetition for it to become autonomic. When he got into competition, with the stresses and anxieties that come with the competitive situation, he fell back to his old habits.
“The difference now is that he has put in the reps. There have been 10,000-plus reps. If he gets a chance to play again and gets back to competition, it’s hard-wired now. He doesn’t have to think about it.”
Kelly didn’t exactly blindside the NFL with the decision Sunday after signaling it was a possibility in mid-March by bringing Tebow in for a physical and workout.
Tebow’s signing is another indication Kelly already has soured on Barkley, a former USC quarterback. Tebow led Florida to two national titles running a read-option offense similar to the one Kelly has used since he was at Oregon.
But even though Tebow faces long odds just to make the final roster and cutting him would cost the Eagles almost nothing, Kelly’s latest contrarian move is sure to garner attention and debate.
That’s because everything involving Tebow draws huge amounts of attention and debate, even before the former Heisman Trophy winner’s miracle-filled 2011 season with the Broncos made him a lightning rod the likes of which the sport has rarely seen.
That magical year in Denver still leaves coaches and scouts at a loss to explain how a quarterback with a 47 percent completion rate could lead his team to a 7-4 record and a playoff win over the Steelers while recording four fourth-quarter comebacks and leading six game-winning drives.
Broncos president John Elway didn’t try to figure it out, shipping Tebow to the Jets just two months later to make room for Peyton Manning.
Tebow was introduced with a splashy, ceremonial press conference in the Jets’ fieldhouse, but all the preseason talk of Gang Green using him as a change-of-pace fill-in for Sanchez in the Wildcat formation and at other positions never panned out.
After former coach Rex Ryan quickly soured on Tebow’s skills and Sanchez chafed at his presence, Tebow appeared in just 12 games with the Jets, throwing a mere eight passes and rushing 32 times for 102 yards. The Jets also used him as a receiver, tight end, fullback and, most embarrassingly, as a punt protector.
Now, thanks to Kelly, Tebow and Sanchez are reunited again.
