Day after Hall of Fame induction, Terrell Owens works out for CFL team
Terrell Owens last played in the NFL in 2010, but he still believes he has what it takes to play professional football
Terrell Owens is a new Football Hall of Fame inductee, but that doesn’t mean his playing days are behind him.
The 44-year-old Owens worked out for Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach and general manager Chris Jones in Chattanooga on Sunday, according to Stephen Hargis of The Chattanooga Times Free Press. Owens reportedly ran routes and caught passes for more than an hour.
Jones was impressed by what he saw but says Owens is still a long way from returning to professional football.
“He’s a physical presence and now it’s a matter of seeing if he’s in football shape,” Jones told Hargis. “He caught the football well today and he got in and out of his breaks decent, but football-wise, he’s got a ways to go with his conditioning.”
Owens can be excused for not being in playing shape. After all, he last played in an NFL game in 2010 as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. In his 15-year NFL career, he caught 1,078 passes for nearly 16,000 yards and 153 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Throughout his career, Owens had the reputation of being a “diva” wide receiver. He wasn’t going to change just because he made it to the Hall of Fame. He skipped the ceremony in Canton, Ohio to protest the fact Hall of Fame voters passed him over the first two years he was eligible. Instead, he staged his own ceremony on the campus of Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he played college football.
If there is one person who believes Owens still has what it takes to play, it is Owens himself. “I know I’m truly blessed and I can still play the game,” he said after the workout. “What I did out there today is just a small little snippet of what I can do.”
Jones says he will remain in contact with Owens, but insists no deal is imminent. “He and I are going to speak and see how he wants to handle it because he has some football shape stuff he’s going to have to get into.”
Owens’ path back to football is a long and unlikely one, but he believes it is possible. Just don’t expect T.O. back catching balls anytime soon, if at all.