Tim Tebow is getting another NFL opportunity, and some folks aren't too happy about it.
The former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback is expected to sign a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars to play tight end for head coach Urban Meyer, his former coach at Florida.
Tebow is 33 years old, hasn't been on an NFL roster since 2015 and spent the last five years playing professional baseball, so there are plenty who wonder if he deserves an NFL spot.
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Rob Ninkovich is among those people. The former New England Patriots defensive end explained Wednesday on ESPN's "Get Up!" why he doesn't think Tebow will make Jacksonville's 53-man roster.
"If you threw a helmet and shoulder pads on me -- and I haven’t played in four years -- I would be able to throw around Tim Tebow as a tight end," Ninkovich said, as transcribed by 247Sports.com. "Listen, you can’t just go from quarterback to a tight end. You can’t do it."
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Meyer insisted in a recent interview that Tebow is in "the best shape of his life." But Ninkovich, who was actually Tebow's teammate in the summer of 2013 when the QB joined the Patriots for training camp and preseason, knows the physicality of the tight end position is a whole different animal than playing quarterback.
That's not the only reason Ninkovich is worked up about Tebow's potential signing, though.
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"There’s guys on rosters, and this is one of the issues that I have with the whole thing: There’s some kid that’s coming out of college that wants an opportunity and wants just to have that roster spot to go out and have the opportunity to possibly make a team," Ninkovich said. "Tim Tebow has had that opportunity in the NFL. He’s had his opportunity in the NFL. He was a quarterback — it didn’t last very long. Then he wanted to go play baseball — OK. Go play baseball. It didn’t work out in baseball.
“So now his relationship with Urban Meyer gives him another chance to go play football. But it’s not like that in football, and this is one reason I love football and I fell in love with the game: You can’t hide. ... You can’t go out in left field and just go somewhere. When you’re on that field and you put pads on, you’re exposed.
"That’s why I love the game. When you put pads on and someone’s talking, you say, ‘All right, let’s put pads on. Let’s see who’s the tougher guy.’ You can see the people who can play. You can see it with your eyes. The film doesn’t lie. ... Because once that film is on, you’re going to be exposed."
It's unclear how long Tebow will last on the Jaguars' roster. But if he makes it to Week 1 of the preseason, we'll find out if Ninkovich is right -- and if Tebow is in for a rude awakening against an NFL defensive end.
