Most fans with even a shred of credibility wouldn't give Tim Tebow much of a chance of making Chip Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles roster. Luckily for Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, he's not a fan. Graham, appearing in a recent video interview with Radio One Detroit Sports Editor Lauren Bealey, indicated pretty clearly and sincerely his belief that not only will Tebow make the Eagles roster, he'll play too.
"Tim Tebow is going to shock a lot of people because he's going to make the team. I think he'll play a lot," Graham said.
You can check it out for yourself. The Tebow comment starts around 6:50 if you wanna skip all the other boring stuff...
Now, of course, that could simply be a soundbite taken from an interview wherein a player wants to do right by a hardworking and well-liked teammate, but it could also be a small glimpse into what the hope is for Tebow in Philadephia in 2015. Chip Kelly is, well, Chip Kelly. He's a man known to do things his own way in his own time and within his own special set of expectations.
There was talk that if the NFL's competition committee moved two-point extra point tries to one-yard out instead of the normal two, Tebow's addition could point to Kelly's plan to go for two more often. The idea of Tebow playing a sort of Wildcat role that allowed him the option of either barreling into the line like a fullback or going play action and tossing a short pass actually made quite a bit of sense - heck, they could even employ the strange jump-pass Tebow used to great effect under Urban Meyer at Florida.
After the competition committee decided not to move it up at all, the presumption then became that Tebow had zero chance of actually make the Eagles. Will Graham's words prove to be a foreshadowing of sorts? Or will Tebow prove throughout training camp and the preseason that he simply has no place on an NFL roster, even one with an unsettled quarterback position and a wide-open competition for the third spot with Matt Barkley behind Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez.
Only time will tell, but if Graham is to be believed, it sure sounds like Tebow actually has a shot. Heck, even Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice is predicting Tebow will make the cut.
