Terrell Owens, one of the most prolific pass-catchers in NFL history, has not played since a productive 2010 season and is saying he will retire if he doesn't get picked up this year.
The 39-year-old receiver has made a lot of enemies in the NFL with his loud mouth, but he claims that his long layoff and advanced age have helped him mature. He elaborated on the reasons he feels he is now being ignored by league executives around the league in an interview with NFL AM.
"It's all politics," he said. "I think a lot of it has to do with my reputation, things that I've done early in my career. I'm a changed person. I'm a bit more mature than I was in years past, and I think if anybody out there can look past that and look what I can bring to the team than some of the things that happened in the past, I can look past it and maybe they could, and I could go in and help a team develop some of those younger guys."
Owens went on to say that he felt he could best help a team running a West Coast offense, mentioning the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs are coached by Andy Reid, under whom Owens played in Philadelphia. With Owens lining up at receiver, the Eagles reached a Super Bowl, eventually losing to the New England Patriots. Owens' Philadelphia tenure ended quickly and explosively, though, after his relationship with then-quarterback Donovan McNabb deteriorated.
T.O. is said to have a good relationship with Vikings wide receivers coach George Stewart, and they traded No. 1 wide receiver Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. One of Minnesota's three first-round draft picks was used to take Cordarrelle Patterson, a receiver from Tennessee. He is exactly the type of young talent who could use mentoring.
Whether Owens would be a suitable teacher, however, is up for debate.
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