Chicago Bears (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Once upon a time, the Chicago Bears lost an overtime thriller to Tim Tebow and his Denver Broncos.
It wasn’t the prettiest game as the Bears had to start Caleb Hanie at quarterback. However, the Bears did hold a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter before the Tebow magic happened. Ultimately, Bears fans will remember this game as the Marion Barber game.
Late in the fourth quarter, Barber went out of bounds instead of running out the clock. This gave the Broncos hope — and time. In overtime, Barber fumbled in Denver territory which gave Tebow the ball back and he led the Broncos down to a game-winning field goal off the foot of Matt Prater.
Tebow Time was a real, magical concept. We haven’t seen the guy play NFL football in over 3,000 days. But now, the unimaginable is happening. The Jacksonville Jaguars are close to signing Tebow to a 1-year deal — to play tight end.
Could any former Chicago Bears attempt a similar comeback to that of Tim Tebow?
It’s a valid question. Whenever something surprising like this happens, it gets people thinking.
There have been some great stories over the years in Chicago, whether it be players who have gotten hurt and fans thought they should have had one more chance, or a fan favorite whom would delight Soldier Field by giving it one more go.
What Tebow is attempting to do is pretty remarkable. His last regular season game came all the way back in 2012, nearly 10 years ago. If he were to just make the practice squad — not even the active roster — that would be an unbelievable story.
Of course, fans in Jacksonville may be rooting for more than that. To see him make the active roster would be one of the crazier sports stories in recent memory.
Back to the Bears, though. Which recent retirees could give it one more shot if they wanted to? There are five in particular which come to mind.