Terrell Owens Blames Media for Perceived Character Issues
There is never a dull moment when discussing Terrell Owens. The controversial wide receiver (WR) is looking for a new home in the NFL. However, Owens is surprised that he has not received any offers yet.
The reasons for this may be due to his age, his decreasing production as a football star, or his perceived character issues. Some have called Terrell Owens a cancer to a team he plays for, but Owens believes that his supposed character issues are an invention of the media.
Owens appeared on Nashville radio and was asked whether he was surprised or frustrated that he has not been offered a contract by any NFL team.
"A little bit of both," he replied.
"People have listened to a lot of the commentaries throughout a lot of the media outlets, mainly ESPN, that has my character in question as far as things that have happened in the past," Owens said to the Nashville station.
"I may do 99 good things right and if I do one thing wrong, ESPN and the people on there ... make it out to be the worst thing ever," he added.
"I think with the years that I've had, the last three to four years, I feel like I've tried to turn over a new leaf," Owens said. "But still they won't let go of what I did in the past."
The veteran wide receiver believes that the good behavior he showed with the Buffalo Bills last year is proof that he is seeking improvement in his character.
"There was definitely a lot of opportunity for me to fly off the handle with the way things went. I stayed composed."
Owens visited the Cincinnati Bengals in March and stated last month on the NFL Network that the team didn’t think his character was an issue.
"If character was such an issue, I don't think Cincinnati would have brought me in," he said. Owens also claims that he and former teammate/nemesis Donovan McNabb were discussing a reunion before McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins.
"I've heard a lot of the reasons why I'm not on a team right now," Owens said. "It's because people feel I've disrupted some teams, I'm a cancer -- I've heard all those things. They've said that for the last five, six years. The teams I've been on, if you ask in that locker room how I've been as a teammate and as a person, it's contradictory to what's been displayed out there."
Owens says that he will be patient and doesn’t mind competing for a roster spot. He doesn’t expect to find a team until training camp begins in late July.
There are some teams that have nothing to lose if they bring him in. Owens has still accomplished some amazing things in his career. We can’t know whether it’s his age or his character issues that has prevented him from finding a new home, but an offer is bound to come around at some point.
If and when injuries become a problem for any team, they will need to fill holes and that’s perhaps when Owens may possibly find a team for the upcoming season. We'll just have to wait and see where Owens fits in.
If a team does give him a chance, it will be a chance for Owens to show that he has some good football left in him and that he has made the necessary changes in his attitude. Any team lacking depth at wide receiver should probably take a chance on him for the 2010 season. It may have not worked out in Buffalo, but who has really helped Buffalo in recent memory? Owens may be a missing component for a team to improve.
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