Another day, another potential role for Tim Tebow with the Jets.
We already know that the team intends to use Tebow as the personal protector on the punt team and in a package of offensive plays designed to take advantage of his running ability. He might also be the team’s quarterback in the red zone, which could mean that he leads the team to scores before covering the ensuing kickoff.
That’s the word from Jets assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica, who told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News that the team is considering using Tebow on their kickoff coverage team. Kotwica said that he’s not concerned about Tebow’s speed getting down the field or about his ability to make a tackle when he gets down there.
“When he’s in coverage, he’ll be looking to tackle the returner,” Kotwica said. “And from what I’ve seen, I’ve got a pretty high degree of confidence that he would be able to do that.”
The need to keep Tebow healthy in case he needs to actually step in and play quarterback would seem to make playing him on kick coverage a bad idea, especially when you’re presumably going to have other candidates for the job on the 53-man roster.
Some might say that the Jets’ plans for Tebow are evolving with the passage of time. Others would probably say that it doesn’t seem like the Jets have a plan at all and that they are just throwing things at a wall to see what sticks. Either way, it looks like Tebow is about to embark on one of the more unusual seasons that a backup quarterback has ever experienced.