Category: Urban Meyer

Jags to sign Tim Tebow to a 1-year deal as a TE

After working him out the Jags will be signing former first-round QB Tim Tebow as a tight end.

[jwplayer tC0QBwX2]

It appears the Jacksonville Jaguars have seen enough from Tim Tebow to conclude that he’s worth a look in camp. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the organization will be signing the former first-round draft pick, but as expected, it will be at tight end.

This news comes after the Jags had worked Tebow out according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. In Schefter’s report, it was stated that Tebow worked out with Jags tight end coach Tyler Bowen. During the draft, the Jags were asked about the potential signing of Tebow, but elected to say their focus was on the draft at that moment. However, with them only being able to address the position with fifth-round pick Luke Farrell, it appears the team wanted another addition at the position.

After the draft, Jaguars front office member Tony Khan told the media that the team’s coach, Urban Meyer, thought Tebow could help the roster when asked about an update on the former Gators quarterback.

“I can’t say too much, but Tim has come in and worked out as a tight end,” Khan said. “That’s not the position we’ve seen him play but that’s the position that he’s been practicing at with us. So, that will be interesting to see how that contributes us on offense, too.

“But obviously, Urban knows Tim very well and Tim’s got a great history of winning and Urban really believes he can help us. I think it makes a lot of sense at a position where we need to get better.”

Tebow, who is a Jacksonville native, was coached by Meyer in college with the Florida Gators from (2006-09). Together, the two, who are now neighbors, won two BCS titles in 2006 and 2008.

Afterward, Tebow preceded to be a first-round pick for the Denver Broncos (2010), who eventually traded him to the New York Jets in 2012. To wrap up his first NFL stint, he played with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, as a preseason player in 2013 and 2015.

Tebow ventured into the baseball realm after his time in the NFL, reaching Class AAA in the minor leagues (for the New York Mets). However, he retired this preseason and has decided to give the NFL at least one more shot.

Report: Peter King thinks it’s possible Jags could sign Tim Tebow after rookie mini-camp

The Jags reportedly have had interest in Tim Tebow as a TE, but a signing may not occur until after a week by the estimation of Peter King.

With the NFL Draft in the books, it seems the Jacksonville Jaguars won’t be able to shake the name of Tim Tebow, who worked out as a tight end for the team earlier this offseason. The internet’s intrigue in a Tebow signing with the Jags only got stronger after the draft where the Jags selected Ohio State’s Luke Farrell, who was known as a blocking tight end prospect more than a receiver. 

However, the internet and fans might have to wait a little longer to see if a Tebow signing truly happens for the Jags. In his Football Morning In America column for Monday, Peter King stated that he believes the Jags could sign Tebow, but if they did, the move could occur after rookie minicamp this week. The belief is that it would allow the Jags to see what they have in Farrell before making the call on Tebow. 

How does this sound: “33-year-old first-year tight end Tim Tebow?” I hear the Jags signing Tebow and giving him a shot to be a backup tight end could happen. I hear the Jaguars will wait till after this weekend’s rookie mini-camp to assess their roster and maybe see how much they think they can get in the overall blocking/receiving from fifth-round tight end Luke Farrell of Ohio State. (I think they’ll be pleased with him.) 

Heading into free agency and the draft, it was clear as day that the Jags needed a tight end. However, free agency proved to come with upgrades the Jags likely didn’t want to pay, while their draft board didn’t allow them to make an addition until the fifth round. As a result, the group doesn’t look significantly better than it was last season — if at all. 

That’s not to say Farrell won’t be a good player, but it likely won’t be immediately as a receiving threat as he’ll enter his NFL career with 34 career receptions 380 and four touchdowns as a collegiate player. That said, he’ll be one of the top names to watch during Jags rookie mini-camp (May 14-16) not named Trevor Lawrence. 

As for Tebow, it will be interesting to see if the Jags give him a chance when considering how long he’s been removed from football (since 2015) and the fact that he’s never played tight end. At the same time, no coach knows him better than Urban Meyer (his coach from 2006-09), so maybe fans will get to see that he’s deserving of a camp spot if the transaction happens. 

Skip Bayless thinks that signing Tim Tebow would help the Jaguars

The host of Undisputed thinks that Jacksonville should (and will) bring in Tebow to compete for a roster spot as a tight end.

Skip Bayless, the host of Undisputed on FS1, is known for his bold (and often contrarian) takes. He’s also been on the record in support of former NFL and college football quarterback Tim Tebow, from his time with the Denver Broncos to his attempt at a professional baseball career.

It shouldn’t be that surprising, therefore, that Bayless is all about the rumor that the Jacksonville Jaguars have interest in the recently retired baseball player as a tight end to help with depth at the position.

“This is going to happen,” Bayless said on his show. “This will help the Jaguars under coach Urban Meyer. Nobody knows Tim Tebow better than Urban Meyer, he knows what he brings intangible as well as tangibly, and this will help a young football team because, No. 1, they need somebody at that position.”

Bayless mentioned that free-agent signing Chris Manhertz, who has just 12 receptions in his six seasons, is listed at the top of the depth chart. He also discussed the team’s fifth-round pick, tight end Luke Farrell, who Meyer coached at Ohio State.

But Bayless doesn’t seem to think Farrell will contribute in the passing game, calling him “nothing but a blocking tight end.”

“It’s Chris Manhertz or bust,” he said. “Which is why they need Tim Tebow to do something, to be an H-back, to be a gimmick player, just to give them, six, eight, 10 snaps a game where you do try to get the ball in his hands because he is an athlete, he is a runner with the football and he’ll do anything because he’s a football player.”

It’s worth noting that the Jags have James O’Shaughnessy on the roster, too, who registered 28 receptions for 262 yards last season (88 receptions and 864 yards over the course of his career). While that isn’t an astronomical figure, it’s better than Manhertz’s stat line as a receiver.

Though Tebow has no experience playing the tight end position (let alone at the highest level), Bayless is right that Jacksonville is getting a bit desperate to find an answer at tight end. Assuming a trade for a player like Zach Ertz doesn’t happen, the Jaguars wouldn’t have much to lose by at least bringing Tebow in for camp.

Urban Meyer explains what Andre Cisco brings to the table

The Jaguars coach said the injuries are a bit of a concern but that the coaching staff likes the value in selecting Andre Cisco.

Jacksonville waited to address its need at safety until its pick at the top of the third round, and though it missed on a player like TCU’s Trevon Moehrig, it came away with one of the draft’s top safeties in Andre Cisco.

A big-time playmaker in college at Syracuse who totaled 13 interceptions in his 24 games, Cisco likely would have found himself off the board much earlier were it not for injury concerns. He missed all but two games in 2020 with a season-ending lower-leg injury, and he missed three games the prior year due to injuries, as well.

But the Jags took the risk in selecting Cisco with the 65th pick, and it seems coach Urban Meyer is thrilled with what he brings to the table, drawing several lofty comparisons to players he coached in college.

“Well, I tell you what, he’s a guy we just all fell in love with,” Meyer said. “Before that injury, he’s — I had Malik Hooker at Ohio State — and he’s the best overlap player I thought in the draft. We used to call Reggie Nelson the eraser, he makes a lot of things right. Best ball skills we felt in the back end of the draft. We had a couple incredible Zoom calls with him. Great background, great character and if he wasn’t injured, I think that was a value pick. We’re real pleased with that.”

Cisco wasn’t the only selection the team made with some risk involved. Offensive tackle Walker Little from Stanford, the team’s selection at No. 45, missed nearly the entire 2019 season with an injury and chose to opt-out of the 2020 season.

He said the decision to pull the trigger on guys who had been out of action so long was a bit difficult for him, but he’s pleased with the potential upside of the picks.

“(It was) Very hard and I needed help with that, to be quite honest,” Meyer said. “We had to do as much intel as we could, but if you look at sheer talent, I think the two guys Walker and Cisco, yeah it was really hard. I’d much rather have those guys in, spend time with them, but the good thing is we have great connections with Cisco and we had great connections with Stanford and Walker Little.”

The quality of this draft class outside of quarterback Trevor Lawrence will largely be judge based on how some of the riskier selections like Cisco’s work out. But if the injuries prove not to be an issue, Jacksonville may have landed a very good starting safety in the middle of the draft.

Trevor Lawrence, Urban Meyer behind a rise in new, young Jags season ticket holders

This offseason has seen Jacksonville receive eight times as many season-ticket deposits as it had in recent years.

This offseason in Jacksonville, the theme has been culture change. By bringing in Urban Meyer, a legendary college coach giving the NFL a shot for the first time, it went in an aggressive and different direction. Earlier during draft week, owner Shad Khan discussed this.

“You don’t want to have too much hyperbole, but it is transformational,” Khan said. “It gives us the opportunity for sustainable and longterm success. That’s what really eluded us. Three years ago, I thought, ‘Okay, we really turned the corner.’ We were even a Super Bowl darling. We even got off to a 3-1 start. That was September of 2018. And then obviously it’s been a downhill ride. This feels like we have definitely turned the corner.”

Now, with former Clemson quarterback and first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence officially on board, there’s a lot of excitement around the team. According to NFL Network’s Judy Battista, the franchise has seen a rise in season ticket purchases this offseason. With spikes in December, when the team secured the first pick, and again in mid-January when it hired Meyer, Battista reports the team has seen eight times the number of new deposits than it has the last few seasons.

More than 50% of those deposit holders are completely new (they had never purchased a ticket of any kind and didn’t appear in the team’s database), and they are on average 10 years younger than the current season ticket base.

It seems this new regime is not only attracting new fans but also attracting younger fans. That’s certainly a positive trend for one of the NFL’s smaller market teams. Though Jacksonville has sold well relative to its on-field success in the past, there’s never been this level of excitement around the franchise.

The Jaguars have been an afterthought in this league for a long time, but those days appear to have come to an end.

Tony Khan on Tim Tebow: ‘Urban believes he can really help us’

Tony Khan understands that the Jags need help at tight end, which is why he’s be open to Urban Meyer’s decision to work out Tim Tebow.

The 2021 NFL Draft is now in the rear-view for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the team was able to add several contributors in the process. One area they weren’t able to address as aggressively as they wanted was tight end, though they acquired Luke Farrell, a blocking threat, in the fifth round. 

With the need for a pass-catching athlete at the position, the Jags have many routes they can go, and one know route they’ve looked into is potential acquiring an option that isn’t in the NFL, specifically Tim Tebow. A report surfaced last Thursday from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, stating that the Jags were interested in Tebow.

Schefter’s report also went deeper into the details, stating that Tebow had worked out with Jags’ tight ends coach Tyler Bowen, who joined the staff this year. This led to Jags’ front office member and son of Shad Khan, Tony Khan being questioned recently about the former Gators quarterback on Bleacher Report’s Draft Wrap show, and while he couldn’t say much, he did express that Jags coach Urban Meyer had confidence in his former player.

“I can’t say too much, but Tim has come in and worked out as a tight end,” Khan said. “That’s not the position we’ve seen him play, but that’s the position that he’s been practicing at with us. So, that will be interesting to see how that contributes us on offense, too.

“But obviously, Urban knows Tim very well and Tim’s got a great history of winning and Urban really believes he can help us. I think it makes a lot of sense at a position where we need to get better.”

While nothing is set in stone, it sounds like Tebow has a chance to earn a contract before the Jags start their key offseason events. If it happens, it still feels unlikely that the 33-year-old would make the final 53-man roster after moving to a position he’s never played and being absent from football since 2015.

As many Jags fans are aware, Meyer coached Tebow at Florida from 2006-09, where they won a national title together in 2008. Eventually, Tebow’s success sent him to the NFL where he became a first-round selection for the Denver Broncos (2010). He was eventually traded to the New York Jets in 2012 and had two preseason stints with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, in 2013 and 2015.

After his football career, Tebow entered the professional baseball realm, reaching Class AAA in the minor leagues (for the New York Mets). This preseason, he made the Mets’ spring training roster but decided to retire in February. 

The Jags’ interest comes as Meyer purchased a home on the same block as Tebow’s Jacksonville area home in the Glen Kernan Golf & Country Club. Earlier in the offseason, Meyer said he’s kept in touch with Tebow (and many other players he knew) over the years, so there was plenty of chances for the conversation about football to pop up.

Urban Meyer discusses 2 players he wanted to select in the 2021 NFL Draft

Urban Meyer mentioned two players specifically that the Jaguars missed out on in the 2021 NFL draft: Kadarius Toney and Baron Browning

Jacksonville came away with the most important player on the board during the 2021 NFL draft in quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But according to Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, there are two players the team missed out on that he wishes it could have selected: Florida receiver Kadarius Toney and Ohio State linebacker Baron Browning.

Toney would have been an obvious fit in an offense run by Meyer. A speedy, playmaking slot receiver, he’s drawn comparisons to Percy Harvin throughout his college career. Many expected Toney to be available for pick No. 25, but the New York Giants made a bit of a surprising move selecting him at 20th overall, making him the highest receiver off the board after the clear top three in Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith.

Meyer said that Toney falling off the board before Jacksonville’s selection “broke his heart.”

“I’ve got to know him over the last couple weeks and obviously with my connection with Coach Mullen and those guys,” Meyer said. “I just think, if you watch him play, he’s a human highlight reel.”

However, Meyer seemed to shoot down the idea that Toney would have fit the same role as the player the team eventually picked at 25th, Clemson running back Travis Etienne. He said the staff didn’t think Toney had the ability to run the ball in the NFL.

This would seem to indicate Meyer hoped the Jags could grab Toney at 25th and then Etienne at 33rd (given how highly they’ve spoken of him), a selection they ultimately used on Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell.

Browning, meanwhile, was one of Meyer’s former players when he was the coach of the Buckeyes, and he went in the third round to the Denver Broncos at pick No. 105, right before the Jaguars’ pick. Meyer said that the selection of Browning, who he hoped the team would be able to snag in the fourth round, at the end of Day 2 was the cause for the sense of urgency which led the team to trade up for UAB edge rusher Jordan Smith.

“That was the one area we had a need list and I saw (Smith) sitting there and that was one of my first experiences of ‘what if we lose him?’ because we did, we lost, everybody does, you see Baron Browning the night before and I said we’ve got the next pick, can we — boom, he’s gone, I really wanted him. So we’re sitting there and we have our defensive coordinator sitting with us and here’s this really raw, talented guy who can rush the passer. Very raw, has a long way to go, but that’s why we did it.”

These sentiments help give us a sense of how the Jaguars’ board looked, and it seems that while they were pleased with the haul in general, there are a few picks they would’ve liked to go differently.

Trent Baalke explains how big Urban Meyer’s recruiting expertise was for Jags during NFL Draft

Urban Meyer knew a lot of the players in this class as recruits, and Trent Baalke said this prior knowledge helped during the draft.

Heading into the first offseason with Urban Meyer as the head coach, a lot of the narrative has been centered around what the first-time NFL coach has to learn in his new position. Meyer has even framed that narrative a bit himself, saying that he “learned a lot” and “asked a lot of questions” during this year’s process.

But Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said that Meyer’s experience as a college recruiter actually helped the team quite a bit during the draft. Most of the players in this draft were recruits in either the 2017 or 2018 recruiting classes. Meyer was the head coach at Ohio State at that time, and because of that, he had at least some familiarity with a number of players in this class, not just former Buckeyes.

“It helped a lot,” Baalke said. “When you look at what [Seahawks Head Coach] Coach Carroll was able to do when he first went to Seattle, his understanding of that group of young men that he had heavily been involved with in their recruiting process. I think you get to know them at a different level, especially in the situation we’re currently in with COVID and the inability to get in front of these guys. Having all that previous knowledge of these guys as they came through high school made a huge difference.”

This can be illustrated by Meyer’s comments about second-round pick cornerback Tyson Campbell, a five-star recruit in the 2018 class who eventually signed with Georgia. Meyer said that one of the main reasons the team decided to select him was the versatility he demonstrated in high school by playing both corner and safety, and he indicated that the team will look to play him at the nickel spot.

“The thing Tyson Campbell gave is flexibility at something other — he was a safety in high school and he’s a very physical player, great blitzer,” Meyer said. “Those are all qualities of the nickel. They’re very hard to find.”

Of course, it remains to be seen if Meyer’s insights during this draft lead to positive outcomes on the field, but it seems that while Meyer has had to tackle a bit of learning curve with the draft process, he was able to contribute significantly with his own area of expertise.

Reports: Tim Tebow worked out for Jags as a TE

The former first-round pick is apparently looking to make a return to the NFL with his college coach, and at a new position, no less.

It seems Jacksonville is thinking outside the box when it comes to options at the tight end spot where they have a big need. According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, former first-round quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow worked out for the Jags as a tight end and has had discussions with them about potentially signing.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tebow was the one who reached out to the Jaguars to request a tryout. He also reportedly worked out with tight ends coach Tyler Bowen.

If the Jaguars decided to bring Tebow in, he’d be reunited with Urban Meyer, who coached him in college at Florida from 2006-09, where the pair won a national title with Tebow starting under center in 2008.

Obviously, there are some concerns. For one, Tebow has never played tight end at a competitive level, and he hasn’t been on an NFL roster, period, since 2015. After being drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round in 2010, he briefly led the team on a fairly impressive playoff run in 2011.

But Denver brought in Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning after that, and Tebow was shipped off to the New York Jets, where he started just two games in 2012. He spent the 2013 and 2015 preseasons with the Patriots and Eagles, respectively, but he failed to make the final roster for both teams.

Since leaving the NFL, Tebow made an attempt at a professional baseball career, signing with the New York Mets organization. He reached Class AAA in the minor leagues and appeared in spring training for New York in 2020, hitting a home run. He was named to the Mets’ spring training roster again in 2021, but he announced his retirement from baseball in February.

It would be an interesting move for Meyer and Jacksonville, who could definitely use some help at the tight end position. After the team let 2020 free agent signing Tyler Eifert walk following one season with the Jags, new addition Chris Manhertz and returning contributor James O’Shaughnessy represent the only notable depth players at the spot.

Tebow probably isn’t the answer, and the Jaguars will probably look to draft a tight end this weekend, such as Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth. But if nothing else, bringing him in as a member of the offseason roster could make this camp even more fascinating.

A bigger, faster DJ Chark showcases Urban Meyer’s emphasis on sports performance

According to James Palmer, Chark has gained 10 pounds this offseason. However, apparently he has only gotten faster in the process.

D.J. Chark is quickly developing into a receiver who is simply unfair. The 6-foot-4 pass-catcher already had excellent size and a large frame for a No. 1 receiver, and now, according to a report from the NFL Network’s James Palmer, he’s gained 10 pounds, putting his weight at 210.

However, don’t expect the extra muscle to slow him down. Palmer said on Twitter that in spite of the weight increase, Chark has actually gotten faster this offseason.

As Palmer mentions, performance has been a major emphasis for Meyer and his staff since he arrived in Jacksonville.

“We’re having a serious conversation about a facility here, a brand-new facility,” Meyer said in March. “I’ve put together a sports performance team that I expect to be the best in the NFL.”

With struggles at the quarterback position in 2020, Chark saw his production drop off a bit. After cracking 1,000 yards for the first time in his career in 2019, he only had 706 yards and five touchdowns (a decrease from the eight he scored the previous season).

Still, he’s one of the top young receivers in the league in spite of average (at best) quarterback play during his time in Jacksonville. A big receiver with excellent ball skills, a bigger, faster Chark is a scary thought for the AFC South and the NFL at large.