Sign In Using Facebook  |  Sign In  |  Sign Up

When Did T.O. Become Kim Kardashian?

Bob Whalon Written by Bob Whalon, Wednesday October 26 2011
Text Size - A +

It finally happened.  Terrell Owens has become Kim Kardashian.  He's simply famous because he's on TV.

T.O. held a workout in California on Tuesday and no NFL teams bothered to send scouts to see him run around without his shirt off.  As a matter of fact, if ESPN and the NFL Network weren't so desperately starved for programming to fill the day, the only people at the workout would have been T.O. and his agent, Drew "No Comment" Rosenhaus.

I'm actually shocked that E! didn't send a camera crew along as well.  I mean, any network that is desperate enough to give the talentless blight on the human race that is the Kardashian family a show certain should be interested in the circus that is T.O., right?  Oh, maybe Kim and her fat sisters were shoe shopping or something and that took precedence.

Anyway, Owens is trying to get a job and this workout was his way of proving that he is healthy.  He had ACL surgery in April and, as usual, is way ahead of the normal rehab schedule.  Anyone who saw his performance in Super Bowl XXXIX on a broken leg knows that T.O. either heals faster than anyone else on the planet or simply can play through injury better than any other players.

Of course, the problem is not the pain T.O. may or may not feel in his surgically repaired left knee, it's the pain that the talented receiver causes in the locker room.  He's already worn out his welcome in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo and Cincinnati, although he wasn't exactly a problem in those last two stops.

The fact that no teams showed up for the workout actually doesn't matter.  They can all see the video and any team that is interested in signing him would bring T.O. in for a physical, interview and workout of their own anyway.

"I only need one team," Owens said.  "I only need one chance."

That's true, but who would give him that chance?  Let take a look at the most likely suitors for the services of the Future Hall of Famer.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak actually said that his team might be interested in signing T.O.  It makes sense since the Titans lost receiver Kenny Britt for the season and their remaining receivers are average at best.  Any team starting Nate Washington and Damian Williams certainly needs to be looking to upgrade their receiving corps.  

Add in the fact that Tennessee is 3-3 and only a half game behind Houston (4-3) for first place in an AFC South without Peyton Manning and you have a team with an obvious need and something left to play for.

T.O.'s old team, the Cincinnati Bengals are in full rebuilding mode with rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and receiver A.J. Green leading the youth movement with a surprising 4-2 record, so they aren't interested.  But maybe a team with a Bengals connection would be interested.

T.O.'s quarterback last year with the Bengals was Carson Palmer, who you may have heard was just traded to the Oakland Raiders.  That means that Palmer is familiar with T.O., which would be an improvement over his complete lack of communication with the current Raider receivers.  Those Raider receivers are nothing special either.  Stop me when you see a name that should start over T.O. today, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Jacoby Ford, Chaz Schilens, Louis Murphy, Denarius Moore, Derek Hagan.  

Plus, this is the Raiders we're talking about.  Even with Al Davis gone, they shocked the football world by trading two first round draft picks to Cincinnati for Palmer.  Who doesn't believe they would take a chance on a receiver who had 72 receptions for 983 yards and 9 TDs last season in only 14 games?

The Baltimore Ravens are considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but they just got embarrassed by the Jacksonville Jaguars because their offense stinks.  Their receivers are under-achieving vets Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans and rookie Torrey Smith.  There is certainly some room for T.O. in that group.  And if you're worried about T.O. becoming a problem in the locker room, all you have to do is look on the other side of the ball at guys like Ed Reed and Ray Lewis.  Neither of those guys would allow T.O. to disrupt the team.  I mean, Lewis knows some guys who could shut him up quickly if it came to that.  I'm just saying.

The Arizona Cardinals are off to a very disappointing 1-5 start, so maybe they would be interested in Owens as a compliment to all-world receiver Larry Fitzgerald.  T.O. certainly would never see a double team with Fitz on the field.  And in spite of his early struggles, Kevin Kolb does seem to be a competent quarterback.  Unfortunately the Cardinals problems are mostly on the defensive side of the ball and taking a chance on T.O. probably isn't what they are looking to do in the dessert.

A return to San Francisco?  Don't laugh.  The 49ers are 5-1 and in complete control of the inferior NFC West.  They are a sure playoff team and history shows us that sometimes the hottest team can win it all.  The problem is that with the injury to wide receiver Josh Morgan, they are left with only Michael Crabtree, Braylon Edwards and Ted Ginn, Jr.  Ultimately I think the 49ers will pass since T.O. has turned on lesser quarterbacks than Alex Smith.  And Smith doesn't even have a Playboy Bunny wife at home like Jeff Garcia.  

The Washington Redskins have fallen to 3-3, but the NFC East is completely up for grabs this season.  Santana Moss is out for the next 5-7 weeks and by the time he gets back the team could be out of the playoff picture.  John Beck is less than an average quarterback, but he isn't getting any help from a receiving corps with Jabar Gaffney as the No. 1 guy.  TE Fred Davis is the best receiver on the team, but the second best guy was Chris Cooley who was just put on the IR.  I'm not sure Mike Shanahan would want to bring in a guy like T.O. though.  After all the drama with Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth last year, he may not want to take a chance on a diva like T.O.

New England took a chance on the aforementioned Haynesworth and even signed T.O.'s buddy, Chad Ochocinco.  Would Belichick take a chance on T.O.?  Probably not.  Tom Brady spreads the ball around to all of his receivers, so there wouldn't be enough left over to keep T.O. happy.

The New York Jets are an intriguing possibility.  The Jets are starting Plaxico Burress opposite Santonio Holmes, so obviously they could use an upgrade at the position.  The only problem there is that they would still have the incredibly overrated Mark Sanchez throwing them the ball.  I'm rooting for this one only because I think it would be wildly entertaining to have T.O. on a Rex Ryan coached team.

Finally, I think there is a possibility he could end up in Chicago.

The Bears have a strong-armed loudmouth at quarterback in Jay Cutler, so not only would he be able to get the ball to T.O., he also wouldn't take any of T.O.'s crap like, say, Donovan McNabb did back in 2005.  The Bears definitely don't have a No. 1 receiver.  They just have a bunch of No. 2 and 3 receivers.  They've tried for years to make Devin Hester a great receiver, but he just isn't.  T.O. would instantly be the best receiver on the roster the day he signed.

Will any of those teams sign T.O.?  Maybe.  Or maybe it will be another team I haven't considered.  It won't be Miami, since they are trying to "Suck for Luck".  That's too bad because it would be great if he wound up playing with Kim Kardashian's ex, Reggie Bush.  Anyway, I can't see how at least one team in the NFL doesn't take a chance on a guy who is a first ballot Hall of Famer and won't cost them much more than the league minimum.

T.O. didn't cause any problems in Buffalo and Cincinnati the last two years because he's always on his best behavior during his first year with a team.  Imagine how motivated he will be in only half a season and the desire to prove that he can still play.

"I could have played last week if someone would have signed me, that's how confident I am," Owens said.  No, confidence was never his problem.  He just needs that one team to take a chance and sign him this year. 


Tags:  



Recent Bengals Articles






Leave a comment

Name *
Email *
Website

Create date
— :

Article

Sport

City

Team

Photo

X

Not So Fast! To publish your comment, you have to login

Not Registered? Register now as it only take 20 seconds!



Click here to browse




0 comments