Former NFL wide-out and controversial superstar Terrell Owens is working on a comeback in football. What was learned on Tuesday, is that his comeback might not be in the NFL, but the CFL and with the Edmonton Eskimos.
According to a CFL source, Edmonton has added both Owens and quarterback Christian Hackenberg to its 45-man negotiation list, giving the club the exclusive rights to chat with both players should their dreams of getting to the NFL fall short.
Owens, now 44 years old, hasn’t played a down of football in the NFL since 2010 but has been actively working on a comeback, posting videos of his workouts, including one on Monday that showed him running the 40-yard dash in hand-held times of 4.44 and 4.43 seconds. While the video has caught some media attention, many insiders still believe that Owens comeback dreams are far-fetched. That said, there is always a chance one team could take a chance should they find themselves dry at the receiver position. But, should that not be the case, would he consider the CFL if no NFL team came calling?
If the answer is yes, Edmonton would have the first shot at signing him and that has a lot of fans who cheer for the Green and Gold mixed in their reaction.
RELATED: TERRALL OWENS REFUSES TO ATTEND HIS OWN HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
Owens was a six-time Pro Bowl and was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. His resume speaks for itself. He's also very well known for alienating himself from teammates, coaches and the rest of the NFL thanks to a loud personality that has screamed "what about me" over the past number of years. His reputation as distracting is potentially so bad, earlier this week, Julio Jones was seen with Terrell Owens while holding out for a new contract, and the Atlanta Falcons are reportedly "uneasy" about their relationship.
Could he help the Eskimos? Perhaps he could. Would the organization take criticism for signing him if it ever came to that? Undoubtedly.
Owens spent 16 years in the NFL playing with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bill and Cincinnati Bengals. He posted 15,934 receiving yards on 1,078 receptions and 153 touchdowns over his career and the only player in history to score two or more touchdowns against all 32 NFL franchises.
Is this likely to happen? Perhaps not, and signing to the negotiating list doesn't mean his future in the CFL is a given by any means. But, a few months ago, few people probably didn't envision Johnny ManzIel playing for the Hamilton Tigercats either.