Tim Tebow: As NFL Dreams Fade, Could He Go To Canada’s CFL?
Tim Tebow. The name just won’t go away, and now that football season is just around the corner, we’re bound to rehash the arguments about whether he was a great college quarterback who just doesn’t have the arm or skills to make it in the NFL or whether he’s a Christian martyr who could be the next Joe Montana if only he weren’t being persecuted for his faith. As with most things, the truth is probably somewhere int he middle. Canada and the CFL could very well represent Tebow’s best chance to show the NFL what they’re missing.
Unfortunately, we never really got the chance to see whether Tim Tebow has what it takes to make it long-term in the NFL. He had a good (if ugly at times) run with the Denver Broncos, but they got the chance to pick up this little-known guy named Peyton Manning. And let’s face it. There are only a handful of NFL teams with quarterbacks they wouldn’t be willing to bench, cut, or trade to have Peyton Manning under center. Tim Tebow had an uncanny ability to get good late in the fourth quarter, but that isn’t nearly enough for any NFL GM with two living brain cells to keep him in the starting role when Peyton Manning’s services are available.
The Jets had no idea what to do with Tim Tebow, and their organization clearly regretted bringing the media circus on themselves. Tebow had a slightly better shake in New England, but the Patriots aren’t exactly quarterback-poor (in fact, they’re one of those few teams that wouldn’t have been willing to trade their starter for Peyton Manning), so it’s unlikely Tim Tebow would have handled anything but a clipboard there even if he had made the cut.
Tebow’s options are limited if he wants to play pro football. The fact that fans argue about his abilities — largely siding up more on the basis of religious belief than anything actually related to football — isn’t going to change that. He has already made it clear that he doesn’t want to play Arena League Football. Why isn’t exactly clear, as other quarterbacks (notably fellow Evangelical Christian superstar Kurt Warner) have made it to the NFL from Arena Football, but that seems to be where Tim stands on the idea.
Other QBs have made it to the NFL from the CFL, too. Doug Flutie is a prime example of a quarterback who excelled in the CFL after having NFL teams turn their noses up at him. Flutie eventually had a shot at the NFL and had a good run, even making the Pro-Bowl during his time with the Buffalo Bills, who inexplicably benched him for the playoffs after a stellar comeback year.
As this report in USA Today points out, the Montreal Alouettes hold the rights to Tim Tebow’s services should he decide to make a go of it in the CFL, though the CFL’s draft and free agency systems would likely give Tebow a number of other options in that league if Montreal doesn’t fit his bill.
The suggestion that Tim Tebow could — and should — look into playing in the CFL are nothing new. So far, he seems to have turned a deaf ear.
As the Inquisitrreported earlier, Tim Tebow plans to continue to pursue his NFL dream, but sooner or later, that dream has to be realized for what it is — a dream that isn’t likely to come true unless and until Tim Tebow proves himself elsewhere. Tebow continues to express great faith in God and in his future. Both of those are commendable, but the reality is that just like the Israelite’s destiny in the Promised Land involved detours in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, Tim Tebow’s best road to the NFL just might involve taking a detour through Canada.
