Moon: CFL not option for Tim Tebow

Hall of Famer Warren Moon said in a radio interview Wednesday that the Canadian Football League is not a viable option for Tim Tebow to prove he can play quarterback, as the former Heisman Trophy winner doesn't throw the ball well enough to play in the league.

Warren Moon, who led the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos to five consecutive Grey Cup titles, doesn't believe the league is a viable option for Tim Tebow.

"You have to be able to throw the ball up there, if anything. They throw the ball a lot. It's only three downs, so the passing game is much more important up there, and there's a lot more field to cover," Moon said in an interview with KILT-AM in Houston.

"If you can't throw the football, it doesn't matter where you play quarterback," he said. "You have to be able to throw it. That's his biggest problem, just being able to complete passes, be an accurate passer. I think he's a really good athlete playing the position, but I don't think that's enough sometimes."

Tebow cleared waivers on Tuesday after being released by the New York Jets. The Montreal Alouettes, who own his CFL rights, have said they would welcome Tebow to the league -- provided he's willing to compete for a job as a backup quarterback.

The CFL has been mentioned as a possible option for Tebow after quarterbacks like Moon, Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia played the position in Canada and then went on to play in the NFL.

Moon said the difference between Tebow and him and Flutie is, "We knew how to throw the ball.

"We were very good passers. We didn't have to go up there to change our throwing motion. we didn't have to go up there to try and become more accurate," Moon said. "We just needed to get to the opportunity. Doug's was because of his height; mine was because of my color. So we went up there and proved ourselves."

Moon played six seasons in the CFL after going undrafted out of Washington in 1978, leading his Edmonton Eskimos to five consecutive Grey Cup titles, throwing for 21,228 yards with 144 touchdowns and 77 interceptions. In 17 NFL seasons, he threw for 49,325 yards, 291 touchdowns and 233 interceptions. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Moon said he thinks that if Tebow wants to continue playing in the NFL, he'll have to switch to another position. Moon told ESPN Radio's "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" on Monday, "I don't think it's going to happen at the quarterback position for him, at least not in the National Football League. You have to be able to throw the football before everything else happens.

“ You have to be able to throw it. That's his biggest problem, just being able to complete passes, be an accurate passer. I think he's a really good athlete playing the position, but I don't think that's enough sometimes. ” -- Warren Moon, on Tim Tebow

"It's nice to be able to run the football in those read-keep options, but even the guys that are in the league right now, the Russell Wilsons, the RG IIIs … Colin Kaepernick, they can throw the football from the pocket with accuracy, and that just adds another element to their game. Tim doesn't have that pocket-passing ability to go with that other element that he has."

In Montreal, Anthony Calvillo is entrenched as Montreal's quarterback. Calvillo, 40, is entering his 20th CFL season and assesses his career on a year-to-year basis. That would leave Tebow to contend with former Boston College star Quinton Porter, a five-year CFL veteran, for the No. 2 spot.

"If Tim Tebow wants to come to Canada, we'd definitely welcome him," general manager Jim Popp said. "That's why we have him on our [negotiating] list, and we'd take a look at him and see if he can play in Canada, but it would obviously be competing for a backup job."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.