May 21, 2021 5 min read

So, Tim Tebow is now officially part of the Jaguars’ offseason roster, trying out with Jacksonville as a tight end.

And some are using this as a point, again, to raise the idea that Colin Kaepernick is not in the NFL.

The two things are not related, other than the fact that, at one time, Tebow and Kaepernick were once quarterbacks in the NFL.

Then, Tebow lost his job, replaced by the Broncos by Peyton Manning in 2012. He spent that season with the Jets, playing sparingly before moving on to give minor league baseball a try.

Kaepernick, meanwhile, lost his starting job with the 49ers to Blaine Gabbert in 2016 after having three offseason surgeries to repair his knee, shoulder and thumb. He did play in 2016, appearing in 12 games.

In 2017, the 49ers hired Kyle Shanahan as their new head coach and he decided Kaepernick didn’t fit his system. In the meantime, Kaepernick had decided in 2016 he would raise awareness to social injustice by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before games.

Are the two things intertwined? Perhaps. But the fact remains that Shanahan wanted a quarterback of his own choosing, which wound up being Jimmy Garoppolo.

The 49ers granted Kaepernick his release in 2017. And he hasn’t played football since, in large part because of his activism.

But none of that has anything to do with Tebow, not one iota.

Tebow isn’t trying out as a quarterback with the Jaguars. He’s changing positions. But that doesn’t stop some from wanting to try to make the point that Tebow is getting a chance and Kaepernick is not.

Is Kaepernick willing to try out as a wide receiver? How about a defensive back? Maybe a defensive end?

If that were the case and he wasn’t getting his chance, then there would be a correlation. As it is, there is not, other than the fact both were once NFL quarterbacks.

Tebow is from Jacksonville. He played college football at Florida for new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer. He could run for mayor of Jacksonville right now and win in a landslide.

This is all about a team that is trying to garner interest among the local population after years of mediocrity. It’s all about trying to sell some tickets and maybe a few jerseys.

If Kaepernick could do that, he would get a chance somewhere, as well, maybe even as a quarterback.

But to try to draw some kind of correlation between the two is grasping at straws.

• There will not be an offensive rookie in the NFL this season that makes a bigger positive impact on their team than Najee Harris will with the Steelers.

And that includes the rookie quarterbacks.

Rookie quarterbacks typically struggle, and the quarterbacks who could be starters this season are all joining teams that are, well, not very good.

Harris, meanwhile, will be used all over the field for the Steelers. He’ll rarely come off the field.

And he’ll give the Steelers something they’ve been missing since 2017, namely a running game.

• Harris means the Steelers will be able to throttle back the number of passes Ben Roethlisberger has to throw this season. They’ll be a much better team if he is throwing 550, not 650, passes in 2021.
• So how is that Jeff Carter trade working out for the Penguins right about now?

Penguins fans for years have complained about the team being too lax to shoot the puck often enough, with players always looking to make another pass.

Nobody has to tell Carter to shoot the puck.

• Plans are currently being set for the Steelers to return to Saint Vincent College for training camp in July. But don’t go setting your plans for a trip to Westmoreland County just yet.

Chances are strong that fans being allowed on campus for practices will be limited. And even the fans that will be permitted onto campus likely won’t get the access to players after practice to which Steelers fans have become accustomed.

Maybe next year.

• Was there any doubt Troy Polamalu would pick Dick LeBeau to be his presenter for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August?

It was a thoughtful pick by a person who is nothing but thoughtful.

• On the day the Jaguars signed Tebow, they made his jersey available for sale.

And they sold more than a few of them.