clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Eagles plan to experiment with Tim Tebow in short-yardage plays, per report

It sounds like the Eagles are going to get creative.

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Now that Tim Tebow is officially under contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, it's worth asking: how will the team use him? Tebow himself and Chip Kelly seemingly won't be available to the media any time too soon, so for now all we can do is speculate, but here are some interesting tidbits from various NFL reporters.

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, the Eagles are going to experiment with Tebow's role.

"There are three things that fans need to understand about the move for the Eagles to pick up Tim Tebow.

In talking to sources in and around the team, number one is they are looking for a package of plays to use Tim Tebow, particularly in short-yardage situations. Especially if they keep Sam Bradford, because you want to keep Bradford away from contact given the two knee surgeries that he’s had. Look for Tebow to be experimented with by Chip Kelly.

Number two thing is, Tebow really has no shot to start here. He’s going in as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart. But Kelly knows that as a pure passer, Tebow really just doesn’t have what he needs to run his offense. He wants to get tougher with his running game, and that’s what he’s trying to take advantage of with Tebow, but he’s not the passer Kelly needs to run his offense.

And the third thing is, this likely means that Matt Barkley is going to be traded before the [2015 NFL Draft]. Likely for a fifth or sixth round pick. The Eagles are trying to pick up a little bit more in the draft and realize that there’s just no place for Barkley to go on the their depth chart. There’s not going to be an opportunity for him to play before his contract comes up and they have to make a choice on whether they’ll let him go as a free agent or not."

Tebow has rushed for 989 yards and 12 touchdowns on 197 career attempts for an average of 5.0 yards per carry. He's hardly going to break open big plays as a rusher but, in theory, he's big and strong enough to pick up yards in short-yardage situations. Or at least that's what the Eagles seem to believe.

Another possibility seems to be the Eagles using Tebow on two point conversions if the NFL changes their extra point rule. Several NFL insiders have speculated about this option:

There's no guarantee Tebow even makes the Eagles roster but it'll be interesting to see how the team uses him while he's around.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Bleeding Green Nation Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of all your Philadelphia Eagles news from Bleeding Green Nation