Tim Tebow is trying out in front of baseball scouts today, in the first step toward getting himself back in professional sports after he realized that he has no future as an NFL quarterback.
But one of the odd things about Tebow’s decision to give baseball a shot is that he gave up on football before exploring every avenue available to him. According to former Buccaneers General Manager Mark Dominik, Tebow was afforded the opportunity to play H-back in Tampa Bay but said he was only interested in playing quarterback.
“I called & called agent Jimmy Sexton, begged him & Tim Tebow to come play H-Back for the Bucs but it was always nope, only QB,” Dominik wrote on Twitter today.
Dominik didn’t say when that happened, but presumably it was in 2013, Dominik’s last year as the Bucs’ G.M., when Tebow was cut twice, first by the Jets at the start of the offseason and then by the Patriots at the end of the preseason.
Tebow always struggled as a passer but had the athletic profile of a football player. He probably could have played H-back, fullback, tight end or maybe even linebacker in the NFL if he had wanted to. But he didn’t want to.
Now he wants to play baseball. He’s an extreme long shot to make it to the majors, which underscores how odd it is that he turned down an opportunity to keep playing in the big leagues of the NFL, albeit at another position.