| It looks like Owens is headed back to the NFL. (US PRESSWIRE) |
Last week, we had written off a Terrell Owens NFL comeback since even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a man known for giving players fourth and fifth chances, sounded uninterested in bringing T.O. back to Big D. But we underestimated the Seahawks, an outfit unafraid to take flyers on veteran players with interesting pasts.
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The team signed and released wideout Antonio Bryant recently, and also inked former Browns first-rounder Braylon Edwards. This came weeks after Seattle parted ways with Mike Williams, another wide receiver who was out of the league until he briefly revived his career with the Seahawks. And that brings us back to Owens, who was impressive at his workout Monday. So much so that, according to CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman, the two sides have agreed to terms, and CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora confirms that it's a one-year deal that will pay Owens just above the veteran league minimum (which, incidentally, is slightly more than the $925,000 Chad Johnson got from the Dolphins earlier this offseason).
Owens last played in the NFL in 2010, when he caught 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns in his one season with the Bengals. A knee injury and the off-field baggage scared teams away last summer and Owens ended up in the Indoor Football League until he was released by the Allen Wranglers for what amounted to conduct detrimental to the team.
But T.O.'s plan has always been to get back to the NFL. In April, he sounded nothing like the "get your popcorn ready" one-man show and more like someone who had learned from his experiences. “I cannot say why I'm not on a team other than that I can tell you about what I will give your team every Sunday," he said at the time. "I have always earned my place on a team. I don't mind coming in playing for the minimum and working my way up."
Now that Owens, 38, is headed to Seattle, there's no guarantee he'll make the 53-man roster. The team currently has 13 wide receivers in training camp; in addition to Edwards, there's Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate and Ben Obomanu.
Can T.O. be among the five best wideouts on the roster? Sure, especially if he's healthy. And Pete Carroll welcomes the challenge of coaching up challenging personalities. The bigger issue: assuming Owens makes the team and regularly sees the field, how long until he loses it on either Matt Flynn or Tarvaris Jackson for not looking his way enough?
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