Tim Tebow still training, says he hasn't given up on NFL career

Since Tim Tebow was last seen playing football, throwing a touchdown pass on his final play of last preseason with the Patriots, it seemed like his NFL career had ended.
Nobody called Tebow last season despite a number of quarterback injuries around the league. When rosters expanded in the offseason, he didn't get a contract. It's June now, and if an NFL team was interested, it would have called by now. Tebow signed a deal to be an analyst on ESPN's new SEC Network, and considering there was a bidding war for his broadcasting services, it's safe to guess he will make a good living in that role.

However, Tebow said he hasn't given up on the NFL in an interview with The Tennessean.

The story said when he was in Nashville for a speaking engagement in May, he rounded up some receivers from the Nashville Venom, a Professional Indoor Football League team, to run routes for him over two days of training.

    "I'm training every day and feel like I'm the best that I've ever been," Tebow told The Tennessean. "I still love it, love playing, talking about it, and I'm just excited about whatever the future holds. Who knows what could happen? But I'm excited about it, though."

The fact that Tebow called upon receivers to catch passes from him shows that his talk of an NFL comeback isn't empty. He wouldn't waste his time like that.

However, one would assume Tebow also understands the reality of the situation. The former Heisman Trophy winner was a sensation with the Broncos, but that faded quickly. He was mostly unused with the Jets in 2012 and couldn't land a regular-season job in 2013. The Patriots signed him late into the offseason, he had a mostly miserable preseason and was part of the team's final cuts before the regular season. Nobody signed Tebow once he was cut by New England about nine months ago.

If Tebow wants to revive his career, he probably has to change positions or go to another league like the CFL. If he commits to a new position or succeeds in another league, maybe then an NFL team would consider giving him another shot. If he doesn't want to play another position like safety or tight end or doesn't want to move to Canada to play, he is certainly under no obligation to do so.

The SEC Network is featuring Tebow on its pregame show on Saturdays in the fall, and considering his stature as one of the greatest college football players ever and his legion of fans, he's likely to succeed in that role.

Tebow doesn't need to play football anymore. That doesn't mean the dream is easy to give up