Newly signed Jaguars tight end Tim Tebow is still learning the ropes at his new position, but he won’t have the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the league at the Tight End University event in Nashville, Tennessee.
The event, which is run by San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and retired NFL tight end Greg Olsen, is intended as an opportunity for the best tight ends around the league to train and share information. But Tebow was not one of the 50-plus players to receive an invite.
In an appearance on the podcast “Pardon My Take,” Kittle and Olsen explained Tebow’s omission.
“So, nothing against Tim Tebow, but I found it hard to invite — I wish nothing but the best for Tim Tebow, and I hope he has a fantastic season playing tight end — but it’s hard for me not to invite a backup tight end on, let’s say the New York Giants, as opposed to inviting a guy who just started playing the tight end position because we do have limited spots,” Kittle said, according to quotes transcribed by David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “I wish I could make it so every NFL tight end can come, (so) it’s accessible to everybody. But what we tried to do this year, we wanted to pay for everything for all the tight ends that come to kind of make it a special event for all tight ends.”
Kittle explained that there wasn’t enough room to invite Tebow. After all, not every backup tight end in the league received an invitation to the event, so it would be hard to justify extending one to a player who just started playing the position.
“We booked up an entire hotel,” he said. “They’re completely out of rooms. We have every room taken. We blocked off a certain amount of rooms, so we’re completely out of rooms. We thought we were going to get like 20 guys, and the next thing I know, we have 47 confirmed as of last week, and I think we just got past 50. Just, wow, that’s a lot of guys.”
Tebow was considered a longshot player to make the roster when he was signed, but this is a Jacksonville team that still desperately needs help at tight end. James O’Shaughnessy likely projects as the top option, but he had just 28 catches last year. Free-agent addition Chris Manhertz and fifth-round pick Luke Farrell are primarily blocking tight ends, while Tyler Davis, a sixth-round pick in 2020, only saw two targets and no catches as a rookie.
The path to making the roster, and potentially having an impact on the field, is there for Tebow. But the 33-year-old hasn’t been on a 53-man NFL roster since 2012, and an invite to TEU could’ve helped him findamentally.
Olsen said that if Tebow were to make a roster and “officially” become a tight end, that they would love to have him at the event.
“If he’s on a roster this year, and he plays tight end, we would love to have him, we would love to work with him,” he said. “Once he’s officially a tight end, we would love to work with him.”
It seems if Tebow wants to be a part of this exclusive group in the future, he’ll need to wait and prove it on the field first.