PHILADELPHIA -- The NFL draft provided the first opportunity for Eagles coach Chip Kelly to comment on his decision to sign quarterback Tim Tebow. Kelly volunteered an unexpected twist in the process.
“We worked Tim out,” Kelly said. “We had him in for a private workout. We wanted to get another guy in here.”
The assumption was that Tebow could provide an extra quarterback for practices while starter Sam Bradford is still rehabbing his knee injury. But there was more to it than that.
The Eagles’ depth chart had Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley and G.J. Kinne at quarterback. Kinne has been on the practice squad the past two seasons.
“G.J. Kinne wants to try to make the team as a special-teams player,” Kelly said. “Maybe a receiver, maybe a running back, a multipurpose player on the offensive side of the ball. Allowing G.J. to move around a little bit means we need to get a fourth quarterback in here. We felt [Tebow] was the best guy available.”
Kinne, 26, had a somewhat less famous Tebow-like college career at the University of Tulsa. In his three seasons as the starting quarterback, Kinne rushed for 1,359 yards and 15 touchdowns. In a 2010 victory over Notre Dame, Kinne led his team in rushing with 78 yards on 20 carries.
With the Eagles adding Bradford, re-signing Sanchez and with Barkley still on the roster, Kinne’s chances of cracking the quarterback group were slim. So it made sense to try to stick with the team in the kind of role that Brad Smith and Trey Burton filled last season. There are roster spots available for that kind of versatile player. Kinne adds the ability to run the offense as a quarterback in an emergency.
