When the Eagles signed Tim Tebow, fellow quarterback Mark Sanchez dismissed Tebow as a camp arm. Coach Chip Kelly disagreed.
Eagles third-string quarterback Matt Barkley agrees with Sanchez, suggesting that Tebow was brought in so the Eagles would have another guy to throw to the receivers after GJ Kinne switched from quarterback to wide receiver.
“He’s not taking my reps on the field,” Barkley said, via NJ.com. “He’s an arm we need for the team, with G.J. making the move to receiver. Tim’s just one of us. He’s trying to make the team just like we all are. It hasn’t effected my approach to how I feel the team thinks of me or how I’m going out to compete every day.”
But while the other quarterbacks seem to see Tebow as a camp arm, it’s up to Kelly, who insists that Tebow is on the team to be a quarterback.
And really, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to sign Tebow to be a camp arm because Tebow doesn’t have a good arm. Tebow’s strengths lie in his ability to improvise and make plays when things break down. If Kelly just wanted another passer to help work with the receivers in camp, he could have found a better passer than Tebow, who would have come with fewer distractions than Tebow. Kelly signed Tebow because sees something in Tebow’s potential to help the Eagles win in the fall, not just to work with the team in the summer.
Barkley should realize that because if Tebow makes the team, Barkley won’t.
