The End of the T.O. Saga

Three years ago, Terrell Owens, otherwise known as T.O., was key wide receiver on the Dallas Cowboys. Although the Cowboys would win the NFC East title, they would be knocked out of the playoffs by eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Owens would finish the 2007 season with 81 receptions, over 1,300 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns. This was the last season Terrell Owens had been invited to the Pro Bowl, and possibly the last time he played in a playoff game. Fast forward to this offseason, and we find Terrell Owens without a team that truly wants him. The most recent team to balk at the advances of Owens’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers decided to stick with their current receiving corp that is still without star receiver Vincent Jackson. Besides Jackson, and Malcolm Floyd, the Chargers wide receivers are largely unknown, and seen as ill-equipped to help carry a pass-happy offense. Has Terrell Owens reached the point where contending teams are afraid that he will ruin their team chemistry, and their season? Super Agent Drew Rosenhaus ensures us that this is not the case, but will not reveal his true hand. There is one thing I know for sure, the Terrell Owens that reports to training camps is not the same T.O. that has plagued defenses for the last decade. Owens still has the ability to go across the middle, and catch balls in traffic, but he doesn’t have the speed to get separation from defenders anymore. Unless there is another threat on the other side of the field, T.O. can not split the double coverage that teams saddle him with.

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Last year, was the first time that T.O. didn’t reach the 1,000 yard mark in a full season in 9 years (not including the 2007 season when he played in only 7 games with the Philadelphia Eagles, yet still amassed over 700 yards). T.O. was banished by the NFL to Buffalo for a year to see if he could help revitalize a horrible offense, instead he showed that his years as the No.1 receiver on a contending team are over. Now that T.O. has slowed a bit, NFL teams are reluctant to take a chance on a big money guy that could destroy their team chemistry, when there are other cost, and team, conscience players out there. The upside with the lesser known player is that if the player does not pan out in the offense, he won’t command the media’s attention. With Owens, if you don’t give him the ball, he will seek to destroy the locker room, and anyone who gets in his way (ask Donovan McNabb about the last part). Why would any contending team take that chance? If Terrell Owens is going to make it back into the NFL this season, he is going to have to be on a lower tier team. Another problem with Owens is the fact that he is going to want a multi-year deal, and with a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) coming in 2011 season, most teams aren’t going to be reluctant to give T.O. extended years because there may not be football in 2011, and who knows if he comes back in 2012. Whatever way you look at T.O’s current situation, you have to realize that his past actions of burning bridges almost everywhere he went make him almost taboo for contending teams. Do I think Owens will be homeless at the end of training camp? No. If he isn’t signed by the beginning of camp, a team will get desperate, because of injuries, and reach on the past his prime wide receiver, but don’t expect it from any Super Bowl contenders, because today’s T.O. is a mere shell of himself.

By Louis Greco
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer