Montreal Alouettes general manager Jim Popp would love to have Tim Tebow play for his Canadian Football League team. He’d also love to have Russell Wilson or just about any other NFL player suit up.
He knows that’s not going to happen, though, and he’s not pushing for it.
Despite speculation Monday that the New York Jets’ cutting Tebow was opening the door for the left-handed passer to make his way north, Popp discounted the possibility of Tebow playing in Canada. He said he hasn’t reached out to Tebow’s representatives, and he doesn’t plan to.
“I don’t really waste my time or bother with it, because until he makes up his mind that he wants to come to Canada, it’s a moot point,” Popp told the New York Times. “It’s only a story today because we have his rights.”
Canadian Football League teams each have a list of players to whom they hold rights, with each team permitted to name 25 foreign-born players — no matter what their status or tenure in the NFL or elsewhere.
“The list changes daily,” said Popp, who said he’s had Tebow on and off his list throughout the last three years. “I can take him off tomorrow, though, and some other team can put him right back on.”
That’s what brought Popp to raise Wilson’s name. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback, who isn’t going to be traded or released anytime soon, is also on the Alouettes’ list.
“We know Russell Wilson’s not coming to Canada,” Popp said.
It would be fun to imagine, though. The CFL offers a wider field, which creates more space for route-running and scampering quarterbacks. Popp said Tebow would have to prove he could make his throws to get a shot, though, and he’d need to show up before camp, which is coming up quick.
It’s up to the players, and the clock is ticking — for both of you, Tebow and Wilson.
