According to FOX News, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft made the admission on Wednesday that Tim Tebow was signed to the team due in part to his "spirituality" and great attitude.
The decision to sign high-profile Tebow as backup quarterback to Tom Brady was met with surprise, as he is a polarizing figure in sports.
"For me personally, having Tim Tebow on this team, he's someone who believes in spirituality, he's very competitive, works hard and has a great attitude," Kraft said at a charity event that took place Wednesday at Gillette Stadium in honor of his late wife. "He's a winner, and the fact that spirituality is so important to him is very appealing to me."
Kraft added that Tebow's openly religious nature was an "added dimension" to the decision, helping to convince the Patriots to sign him to a two-year deal. "You can't have enough good people around you, and [Tebow] has the added dimension of spirituality being so important to him, and that personally appeals to me a lot," Kraft said.
He even compared Tebow to three-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and rookie back up Ryan Mallett. "Watching Tebow throw [Tuesday in a mini-camp workout], to me, he looked pretty good," Kraft said. "It's fun having him here. It's nice to have three quarterbacks who can throw it really well."
Coach Bill Belichick, however, has remained light-lipped about the decision and Tebow's performance on the team so far, and kept quiet on Tuesday when reporters asked him how Tebow was doing during the team's three-day mini-camp.
"We're not going to get into a minute-by-minute evaluation of a player," Belichick said. "I don't think that's the way to go, especially at this time of year."
Kraft has said many times that he doesn't want Brady to come off the field when the players are in offense, downplaying the possibility of Tebow being used at quarterback in a gadget-play situation. "In my mind, we have the greatest quarterback of all time on our team," Kraft said. "And every time he has the ball in his hand, we have a chance to do something great. Nothing has changed in that regard for me."
"That's a very hypothetical question," Brady said on the subject. "So maybe we'll deal with it if it happens."
