AFC Notes: Tebow, Dolphins, Broncos, Jets

A Tim Tebow to the Jaguars deal is starting to look more and more likely. The news of Tebow trying to come out of retirement as a tight end came completely out of left field, but Jacksonville is seemingly taking it quite seriously. Head coach Urban Meyer acknowledged at the time that the team would explore signing Tebow in the near future, and now ownership is endorsing the prospect. “Tim has definitely come in and worked out,Tony Khan, son of Jags owner Shad Khan, told BleacherReport.com, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com. “So beyond that, I can’t say too much, but Tim has come in and worked out as a tight end. That’s not a position that we’ve seen him play, but it’s a position that he’s been practicing at with us.”

“Urban really believes he can help us, and I think it makes a lot of sense. And it’s a position where we need to get better.” That last sentence is the money quote that makes it sound like the Jaguars signing Tebow is a matter of when, not if. Obviously Tebow played for Meyer at Florida, and if the new head coach and shot caller wants him back as a reserve tight end, the front office isn’t going to stand in the way. Jacksonville is thin at the position right now, and crazier things have happened. Assuming he gets signed, it’ll be entertaining if nothing else.

Here’s more from the AFC:

  • Some teams, like the Packers, have announced their initial phase of offseason workouts would remain virtual and that players with workout bonuses could receive them by logging their attendance at the virtual sessions. The Dolphins won’t be one of those teams. Miami will only be giving players with workout bonuses their money if they are in the building later this month, a source told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. That doesn’t mean it’s a coaching decision, as Jackson writes that one agent told him Dolphins head coach Brian Flores “has been respectful of the players’ position on the NFLPA issue and hasn’t tried to pressure them.” The NFLPA, of course, is pushing teams to proceed with entirely virtual offseason voluntary workouts. Jackson notes that there are “nearly a dozen” Dolphins players with workout bonuses who will now face a dilemma. The Dolphins were one of the many teams whose players issued a statement through the NFLPA to “stand in solidarity” with players skipping the workouts. Receivers DeVante Parker, Albert Wilson, and Jakeem Grant have workout bonuses of $100K, $75K, and $50K respectively on the line.
  • The Broncos recently drafted Ohio State linebacker Jonathon Cooper in the seventh-round, who played in college with a heart condition. Now, Cooper is having a procedure to correct the issue, Mike Klis of Denver 9 News writes. While it’s hard to read ‘heart procedure’ and not get a little alarmed, thankfully Klis writes that it’s a “minimally invasive” operation that will only sidelined him for a few weeks. Cooper won’t be able to participate in the team’s rookie minicamp, which is a tough blow for any seventh-rounder, but he is “expected to be ready for the start of training camp, if not sooner.” Here’s to hoping everything goes smoothly with the ablation procedure.
  • Speaking of offseason surgeries, the Jets’ Quinnen Williams just had one too. The third overall pick of the 2019 draft had surgery for a broken bone in his foot on Thursday, according to Joey Chandler of NJ.com. Fortunately, new Jets coach Robert Saleh said he believes Williams will be back for training camp. “It could have been worse, because those types of injuries are injuries that it is just something that eventually was going to happen so for it to happen now so they can get him fixed and be ready for training camp rather than it happening in training camp and now he’s missing half the season,” Saleh said optimistically. Williams made major strides last season, and showed flashes of the dominant player the Jets hoped they were getting in 2019. Hopefully this injury doesn’t stall any of that progress.
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