Receiver Terrell Owens is just a few months away from possibly entering the Hall of Fame. But he’d be happy to re-set to zero the five-year waiting period for Canton consideration.
Appearing Friday on 94WIP in Philadelphia, Owens said he could “[a]bsolutely” help the Eagles this season.
“You think that I shouldn’t be playing right now?” Owens said on the same day his Football Life documentary debuted on NFL Network. “I definitely could be playing right now, but based on my character -- yeah, people can say, ‘Oh he’s 41.’”
It sounds like Owens wanted to once again claim that the NFL’s lack of interest comes from media-fueled concerns regarding his disruptive locker-room behavior. But he was wise not to shine a light on that topic, what with the voters (all of whom belong to the media) poised to give him a bronze bust in early February.
“I’m not your average 41-year-old,” Owens said. “And when I was on that football field, I felt like I was the best thing out there and it was due to how hungry I was and how dedicated I was.”
He has a point, and with quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck getting it done at the age of 40, it’s hard not to wonder why someone wouldn’t give Owens a chance. He undoubtedly has grown and matured in five years of not playing, and he’d surely be grateful for getting one last opportunity to play.
The fact that he’d willingly delay for half a decade his first shot at Canton should count for something. It should at least be enough to get a team to bring him in for a tryout aimed at seeing if he can still get it done like he once could.
