Terrell Owens’ agent teases surprise return to Dallas Cowboys for playoffs
By Josh Hill
Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens is reportedly in talks to return to the Dallas Cowboys — but will it actually happen?
As the Dallas Cowboys push toward a Super Bowl, rumors have swirled all season long about Jerry Jones adding a big name wide receiver currently without a job.
The name everyone has connected to the Cowboys is Odell Beckham Jr., but the latest rumor is about another wide receiver and is about as far out of leftfield as a rumor can be.
Buckle up for a plot twist to end all plot twists: Terrell Owens had a conversation with Jerry Jones about a potential return to Dallas. According to Sports Illustrated insider Aaron Wilson, the 49-year-old Hall of Famer talked with Jones about coming out of retirement to join the Cowboys for a playoff run this January.
Owen’s agent, according to Wilson, has made it known that not only have the two sides talked but the talks were not a one-off thing mentioned in passing.
"“We’ve been in constant communication with Jerry Jones’ office over the last few days about the possibility of him returning to the Cowboys,” Daniel said. “Terrell is ready to contribute and play any role, big or small. He’s in outstanding shape. He looks no different than he did years ago. I watched him running routes full-speed with DeSean and he looked great. He didn’t drop a pass."
Didn’t see this one coming.
NFL Rumors: Is Terrell Owens returning to the Dallas Cowboys?
This is a tricky one because it is true that Owens has talked to Jerry Jones about a potential return to Dallas. That conversation, according to T.O.’s agent, indeed happened and a discussion about the 49-year-old coming out of retirement to help the Cowboys push toward a Super Bowl was had.
According to NFL reporter Jane Slater, that’s about as far as the conversation went.
Slater confirmed that a conversation took place, but that a source told her that a deal would not be happening.
“This was a fun one to ask about and follow up on but according to my sources, he did call Jerry but not happening. As it was described to me “last game in 2010 and 49 years old’,” Slater reported on Wednesday. “Never say never with Jerry but seems like a long shot.”
The idea of Owens coming out of retirement is about as wild as it gets, even for someone as flamboyantly brash as Jones. It’d be a take the keys away from Dad situation if Jones went ahead and signed Owens, who hasn’t played a snap in the NFL in 12 years.
It would be tremendous content, however.
As far as how it works on the field, it’s difficult to see how Owens would be an actual contributor. Dallas is still reportedly interested in OBJ, who wants to return for the playoffs and not the regular season, and signed T.Y. Hilton to effectively play the role Beckham would.
That move already paid of, with Hilton coming through with a clutch catch that helped the Cowboys upset the Eagles in Week 16. So maybe Jones is onto something and signing T.O. would be so crazy it might work.
Then again, lightning rarely strikes twice and if the Cowboys are going to take a massive risk on a wide receiver to help them win a Super Bowl it’ll be OBJ and not T.O.