Mark Sanchez backs off comments about Tim Tebow

The Philadelphia Eagles just can’t stop making news this offseason.

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Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly must have known his carnival of quarterbacks would cause a stir in the media at some point this offseason.

That controversy came shortly after the Eagles added Tim Tebow to the quarterback pile in late April. Backup Mark Sanchez claimed that the team told him that Tebow was brought in to take reps while Sam Bradford recovered from a torn ACL, via CSN Philadelphia.

Many inferred that Sanchez was saying Tebow was more or less a “camp arm” with little chance to make the team. This week, Sanchez clarified his comments and said that wasn’t what he was trying to imply, according to Conor Orr of NFL.com.

"“I think that kind of came off the wrong way…At least it was not exactly what I intended to say. It took on a life of its own. Listen, everybody’s here for a reason. We’re all working hard, trying to make each other better. Coach wanted specific guys here for specific reasons. That’s up to coach. We just plug in and play.”"

It’s easy to see how Sanchez’s comments could have been misconstrued, as often happens in the mainstream media. On the other hand, it took Sanchez over a month to clarify his comments, and the story was all over the place in late April.

Whether Sanchez was really told Tebow was brought in just to take reps or not, the fact remains that the latter faces an uphill battle to make Philadelphia’s roster. Sanchez’s position as primary backup is all but guaranteed and he will get some starting time if Bradford’s recovery doesn’t go according to plan or if he gets hurt yet again.

Tebow won’t beat out Bradford or Sanchez on the quarterback depth chart. That means he will have to outperform Matt Barkley to earn a roster spot as the Eagles’ third quarterback, which is certainly in the realm of possibility but probably not likely.

Of course, the innovative Kelly could have other plans for Tebow, perhaps as a goal line specialist. Whether such a role would justify a 53-man roster spot remains to be seen.

No matter what happens in the rest of Philadelphia’s circus offseason, at least Tebow and Sanchez can have a smooth relationship now.