Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
49ers’ George Kittle explains why Tim Tebow wasn’t invited to Tight End University
Jun 21, 2021 at 6:38 AM
•
San Francisco 49ers tight end
George Kittle and retired tight end Greg Olsen are kicking off Tight End University this week in Nashville, Tennessee. It's a gathering of some of the best tight ends in the league for a week of training, information sharing, and all-around improvement.
No, Tim Tebow will not be there. The former quarterback who converted to tight end and is working to be a part of the Jacksonville Jaguars roster was not invited.
Kittle and Olsen joined the
Pardon My Take podcast, and the 49ers tight end explained why Tebow was excluded from the week-long event.
"So, nothing against Tim Tebow, but I found it hard to invite -- I wish nothing but the best for Tim Tebow, and I hope he has a fantastic season playing tight end -- but it's hard for me not to invite a backup tight end on, let's say the New York Giants, as opposed to inviting a guy who just started playing the tight end position because we do have limited spots," Kittle shared. "I wish I could make it so every NFL tight end can come, (so) it's accessible to everybody. But what we tried to do this year, we wanted to pay for everything for all the tight ends that come to kind of make it a special event for all tight ends."
There was not enough room for Tebow. His inclusion would have meant taking the spot away from another player who has been playing the position longer.
"We booked up an entire hotel," Kittle continued. "They're completely out of rooms. We have every room taken. We blocked off a certain amount of rooms, so we're completely out of rooms. We thought we were going to get like 20 guys, and the next thing I know, we have 47 confirmed as of last week, and I think we just got past 50. Just, wow, that's a lot of guys."
Kittle hopes that the event will be open to more players in future years, and the tight end hopes to extend an invitation to Tebow for next year's gathering.
Added Olsen: "If he's on a roster this year, and he plays tight end, we would love to have him, we would love to work with him. Once he's officially a tight end, we would love to work with him."
You can listen to the entire interview with Kittle and Olsen below. It begins at about the 53:50 mark.
Related News
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
Why Christian McCaffrey is excited about his 49ers future
It seemed so unfair. At least, that's what Rich Eisen thought when he heard rumors swirling that the San Francisco 49ers were looking to trade for star running back Christian McCaffrey. It just wasn't fair ... for the rest of the NFL.
Like so many, Eisen has a great deal of respect for head coach Kyle Shanahan's system and the already-talented roster he and general manager John Lynch have built over the years.
McCaffrey joined the Rich Eisen Show on Friday, and the two reflected on the trade that sent him from the Carolina Panthers to Shanahan's 49ers, a situation Eisen called "a perfect fit."
"I'm definitely excited," McCaffrey told Eisen. "Like you said, it's a great fit for me. It's a great fit for, really, any skill player. It's a great
Why Cynthia Frelund named Brock Purdy the 49ers' most underappreciated player
NFL Media's Cynthia Frelund took on her annual offseason task of identifying the league's most underappreciated player for each team. The San Francisco 49ers certainly have their share of play-making superstars, from names like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle on offense to Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Talanoa Hufanga on defense.
So how do you determine a team's "underappreciated" contributor?
"First, I calculate and then rank each player's season-long contribution metric by team (win share)," Frelund explains. "To sum it up without getting overly technical, the contribution metric (or win share) measures each
Why PFF warns not to overreact to 49ers QB Brock Purdy's early success
Pro Football Focus named Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs as the NFL's best in its recent ranking of starting quarterbacks. It's hard to argue with that choice. Behind Mahomes are Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Brock Purdy finished last season as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback. He came in when the team lost its second starting quarterback of the season. Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury during Week 2. Then, Jimmy Garoppolo broke a foot during Week 13. That thrust Purdy into the starting lineup, and he guided the 49ers to eight consecutive wins, all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
Unfortunately, Purdy became the 49ers' third starting quarterback to suffer a serious injury, a
Podcast: 49ers OTAs Day 1 recap
By Rohan Chakravarthi
May 24
Rohan Chakravarthi and Jessie Naylor break down Day 1 of the San Francisco 49ers OTAs that was available to media.
The audio for the show is embedded above, while the video is available below.
You can listen to "The Rohan Chakravarthi Show" from our dedicated podcast page, on
