Charles Barkley is in the camp of nonbelievers when it comes to Tim Tebow’s NFL comeback at a new position with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Barkley, who never played professional football, appeared on ESPN Chicago’s “Waddle and Silvy” and rifted about Tebow’s chances of making the Jaguars roster as a tight end.
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“I think it’s going to be very difficult for him to just pick up football, another position,” the Basketball Hall of Famer said. “Tim’s such a good dude, but you know, a lot of people don’t like Tim because his religion. He wears it on his sleeve. I don’t care about that. I like the kid, but I don’t think he can just come pick up another position.”
Barkley was concerned about the message Tebow was sending by trying out a new position after not being in a training camp since 2015 and then moving to baseball for a few years.
“To think he can just come pick up another position. I just think, I think you’re just being disrespectful to jocks, saying ‘Oh, I haven’t been playing football, but I can come and be a pro at it.’ I just think that’s impossible, personally,” Barkley said.
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“Listen, Michael Jordan tried, he tried to play baseball,” he added. “You can’t just go play a pro sport, that doesn’t make sense, and I think the some of the guys, listen, need to just ease up. If he makes it. I don’t know if he can make it, but come on man, there’s worse things going on than Tim Tebow.”
While the skepticism has mounted amid the first report Tebow tried out for the Jaguars before the NFL Draft, the Jaguars’ No. 1 pick had nothing but good things to say about the former Florida star.
“He looks great,” quartreback Trevor Lawrence said Wednesday on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “He’s just a guy that you want to be around. Character is awesome. Had a few conversations with him and I can already tell, and just a hard worker. No one is going to work harder than him. Those are the kind of guys you want in your locker room and you want to be around every day. And then I’m excited to see what he can do on the field as well. We got in a few days and he looks great. He’s in awesome shape.”
Lawrence said he hadn’t met Tebow until last week when the Jaguars made the signing official.
“I never met Tim until last week so I didn’t really know him, but I was intrigued by his character, his work ethic and what he’s been able to do throughout his life on the field and off the field,” the Jaguars’ top draft pick said.
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“All those things are really interesting so I was excited to meet him. When it was official, I saw him in the locker room and had a few good conversations and I really like him.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.