Tim Tebow is about to wear many hats with the New York Jets.
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Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported Tuesday that Tebow is a candidate to see the field on kickoffs. You're not going to see the backup quarterback return kicks, but he's being considered for a spot on the coverage team.
"I think there might be some value there on kickoff returns," assistant special teams coach Ben Kotwica said. "It's something that we've talked about. I don't think there's any option with Tim that we've taken off the table. So, that would be something that would be new to him as well. In what we've asked him to do as the personal (punt) protector (right now), he's done an excellent job."
Kotwica isn't concerned about Tebow's ability to tackle the return man, and why should he be? Tebow is a 250-pound steamroller, and Rex Ryan is going squeeze everything he can out of him.
The Jets have fielded deep criticism for adding Tebow to the roster. We don't know how Mark Sanchez will get through the season with Tebow breathing down his neck, but the Jets seem to understand that Tebow's role -- before quarterback -- is that of a football player. Say what you want about his mechanics, but Tebow is an unusual athlete, and we expect to see him spread him all over the field in 2012.
