Can Tebow help Eagles? Probably not

The roster move the Eagles are expected to make Monday shot straight to the top of the publicity charts. A lot of people might have been Tebowing that it was not true, but it is. The Eagles are adding a Heisman Trophy winner to their crowded quarterback depth chart.

Oregon's Marcus Mariota remains a long shot to be in Eagles green after the NFL draft. Tim Tebow, on the other hand, will be on the practice fields at the NovaCare Complex after he signs a one-year deal with the team Monday. He'll be one of five quarterbacks on the roster, joining Sam Bradford, his former New York Jets teammate Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley and G.J. Kinne.

Twitter blew up when the news about Tebow surfaced early Sunday night. Rarely has someone accomplished so little and received so much attention, but when the talking heads at ESPN and the other 24-7 sports networks find a story they like, they will shove it down our throats over and over again regardless of the actual significance.

In this case, the importance of Tebow's signing ranks far below the Phillies' Rule 5 draft selection of Odubel Herrera and the 76ers' in-season signing of Robert Covington. Those moves were barely a blip on the transaction wire, but those two players have an actual chance of making an impact with their teams.

Tebow, 27 and two seasons removed from his last NFL game, has almost no chance of making the Eagles' opening-day roster and even less chance of ever impacting a game in any way. For some reason, Tebow cannot let go of the dream and for some unknown reason Chip Kelly is going to let the chase resume in Philadelphia. They both must love the publicity.

Perhaps Kelly saw something no other coach has during Tebow's March workout in Philadelphia. We do know that Kelly sees things that most of the rest us do not. That's good sometimes and awful in others. In this case, it will most likely be harmless and meaningless.

Unless Kelly takes another wild turn and somehow lands Mariota during the first round of the draft, the Eagles' top two quarterbacks are going to be Bradford and Sanchez. You could suggest that Tebow makes sense as a No. 3 quarterback because he has the experience of 18 career starts and a resumé with some crazy comeback victories with the Denver Broncos in 2011.

The facts, however, tell a much different story. They tell us that a man with a career 47.9 completion percentage should be out of chances and moving on with his life. Tebow's record as a starter in two seasons with the Broncos was 9-7, including a comeback playoff win over Pittsburgh. What we learned once Peyton Manning went to Denver, however, was that Tebow's presence at quarterback was preventing a good team from becoming a great one.

We found out even more when Tebow moved on to the New York Jets in 2012. We learned that former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum was clueless and that Jets coach Rex Ryan would have rather been caught Tebowing naked in Central Park than actually start the lefty from Florida at quarterback.

The experience was equally miserable for Tebow, who quietly stewed when Ryan started Greg McElroy in place of an injured Sanchez in a Week 16 loss to San Diego. Neither Tannenbaum nor Tebow returned to the Jets in 2013.

You could not blame Tebow for giving his career another shot in 2013, especially when it was offered by coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. If anyone could squeeze something out of Tebow, it would have been Belichick. He even decided to let the kid take another shot at playing quarterback.

Tebow completed just 11 of 30 passes for 145 yards in three preseason games. He threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions and was cut from the team. He thanked all the right people on Twitter afterward and had the good fortune of landing a broadcasting job on ESPN at the end of 2013.

He worked in that capacity last season, mostly on the ESPN-owned SEC Network, and was good at it. It was his day job, but he remained obsessed with proving to the world that he has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. Tebow has worked out with Tom House, a former big-league pitching coach who also teaches the art of throwing to quarterbacks and now he has found an NFL coach willing to give him another look.

Why does it always seem as though the coach who is willing to give players another chance works in Philadelphia?

From afar, Tebow seems like a really good person. His philanthropic work in the Philippines is well documented and he showed a penchant for self-deprecating humor in his Super Bowl advertisements. That, however, does not make him qualified to play quarterback in the NFL. He is also not the first Heisman Trophy winner to be burdened by that distinction.

Let's hope for his sake he did not give up that gig with ESPN.

@brookob