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

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:

Tebow could come in handy for the #Eagles if the revised extra point rule passes during May owners meetings.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 19, 2015

Very smart NFL exec posited this about Tebow/Chip Kelly. With extra point maybe gone and replaced w/play from the 1yrd line, Tebow a fit...

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 20, 2015

Tebow could fill that role, play scout QB, help out on special teams. Import of a player in those scoring scenarios would be big and...

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 20, 2015

Most people figure Kelly would be very aggressive and going for 2 there quite a bit. Tebow better than Bradford or Sanchez there...

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 20, 2015

And if the rule isn't passed in May, and if Eagles get Mariota, and Tebow is bad in OTAs you just cut him. No risk signing

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 20, 2015

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.