When the Jets signed former Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens this offseason, they not only got a potential playmaker for their receiving corps, they also got someone to test the caloric willpower of Tim Tebow.
Schilens and Tebow are roommates for training camp, and the duo has hit it off. They talk football and have enjoyed getting to know each other, with Tebow sharing the big screen television he brought up from New Jersey for camp and Schilens in turn offering Tebow a late night snack. It was an offer that the fitness nut Tebow quickly refused.
“I was eating Teddy Grahams last night and I offered him some,” Schilens said. “But he didn’t eat them.”
Of all the things Schilens has learned about Tebow, he said he is most impressed with the quarterback’s dedication to working out. But Schilens is no slouch in that department himself, especially coming off the year he had.
Only once, his rookie year in 2008, has Schilens played in all 16 regular season games. Last year he played in 15 games for Oakland, with a modest haul of 23 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns. But Schilens is an impressively built 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, making him an ideal replacement for Plaxico Burress.
“I think I can probably fit into a couple different places. Honestly, I’ll just make plays like I told the guys and wait to see how it plays out in the end,” Schilens said. “We all have something to offer — and I think at the end of the day, no matter what, it’s going to be good.”
He’s never had more than 29 catches or two touchdowns in a season and was often under-utilized in Oakland. Schilens has already shown himself to be a decent route runner early in training camp.
After Holmes, the Jets roster doesn’t have a proven wide receiver and there is the opportunity for him to come to New York and step into a prominent role.
“It’s a fresh start for me. They believe in me and I like being here. I do have something to prove,” Schilens said.
“It was everything. It was Rex, it was coach, it had a lot to do with coach [Tony] Sparano and had a lot to do with the opportunity; the way they thought of me [and] the way they believed in me.”
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer for live updates from Cortland.
