Urban Meyer: Waiving Tim Tebow 'Was The Right Thing'
The Jacksonville Jaguars made their first wave of cuts on Tuesday, waiving five players from the active roster. Among those players was tight end Tim Tebow, whose controversial signing and switch to tight end had been among the summer's top storylines for the Jaguars.
For some, the move came as a minor surprise. Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has a deep-rooted history and close relationship with Tebow. Tebow wouldn't have been in an NFL training camp this year had it not been for Meyer's influence in Jacksonville and the closeness between the two.
But to Meyer, the move was clearly the correct one to make, no matter the circumstances.
"We knew that was an uphill battle for Tim. Players loved him, locker room loved him, but it was the right thing," Meyer said following Tuesday's practice.
Tebow was waived along with cornerback D.J. Daniel, receivers Josh Imatorbhebhe and Tim Jones, and defensive lineman Daniel Ross. While each of those three players is a young and ascending player who still has a future in the league, Tebow's cut presented something much different.
Instead of a new chapter, it presented a likely end to an NFL career that was shortly revived in 2021. Tebow put in 14 training camp practices and one preseason game (which consisted of 16 snaps), but the Jaguars didn't see enough development as a route-runner, receiver or a blocker to justify keeping him on the roster.
"I would guess it is [the end]. You know, we didn’t get that deep with it. Obviously, he’s his own man. [He’s] an elite warrior, an elite competitor, but he’s also 34 years old," Meyer said.
The primary sticking point with Tebow's chances to make the roster went beyond his newness to the tight end position and his limited ability as a blocker or receiver. Ultimately, Tebow became a prime example to Meyer of the importance of special teams when it comes to constructing an NFL roster.
For the first time, Meyer is having to balance his offense, defense and special teams units among just 53 players, a vastly smaller roster than he is used to. As a result, it is key for every single non-offensive or defensive starter to be able to contribute to the special teams unit.
Tebow, however, was the only Jaguars' tight end to play zero special teams snaps in Saturday's 23-13 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns, underscoring the difficulty with keeping him on the roster.
“It was special teams. This whole roster management is really critical as we journey here into the next two weeks. Two of the special teams phases are tackling and he had never tackled," Meyer said on Tuesday.
"That’s what I found myself and I still find myself, all of us. Every off day we’ll have a two-to-three-hour meeting about roster management, and it comes down [to that] because we expect to be very good on special teams. The tight end position is one of those [positions], and tailback, if you can’t contribute on special teams, that’s a tough go.”
