Former Patriots LB Rob Ninkovich isn't buying Tim Tebow's NFL return

Back in July 2013, as since-retired New England Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich was entering his fifth season with the team, there was short-lived speculation that the Patriots were trying out Tim Tebow at tight end.

Nobody was buying that lifelong quarterback Tebow could transition to tight end then, and Ninkovich still isn't buying it now as the Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to sign the 2007 Heisman winner as a backup tight end any day now.

"If you threw a helmet and shoulder pads on me, and I haven’t played in four years, I would be able to throw around Tim Tebow as a tight end," Ninkovich, who retired in 2017, said during his appearance on ESPN's "Get Up!" (h/t 247Sports).

The two-time Super Bowl champion continued:

"He's had his opportunity in the NFL. He was a quarterback—it didn't last very long. Then he wanted to go play baseball—OK. Go play baseball. It didn’t work out in baseball. So now his relationship with Urban Meyer gives him another chance to go play football. But it's not like that in football—and this is one reason I love football and I fell in love with the game—you can't hide. You can't hide in football. You can't go out in left field and just go somewhere. When you're on that field and you put pads on, you're exposed."

Tebow, 33, originally played quarterback under Meyer from 2006-09 with the Florida Gators. There, he won twonational championships and was named the first sophomore to claim the Heisman Trophy. 

The Denver Broncos drafted the Jacksonville native 25th overall in 2010, and he showed very infrequent promise as his throwing accuracy was a glaring issue. He led the Broncos in an unlikely 2011 playoff run against all odds, but he was traded to the New York Jets in March 2012.

Tebow made 12 appearances under center for the Jets, and none of them was memorable. New York cut Tebow in April 2013, and he then had short stints trying to latch on to the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles (2015). He did not suit up for either team and segued to four years in the New York Mets' minor-league system.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first broke the news that Tebow was sniffing around a roster spot in Jacksonville on Draft Day (April 29):