Former NFL and soon to be Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens has been in the news a lot over the last few weeks.
Last month, Owens took a strong stance against the Pro Football Hall of Fame saying that he would not be attending the induction ceremony in August at Canton, Ohio. When he said this, many Hall of Famers took objection to Owens’ stance and were disappointed that he would not show up.
Outside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Owens still has a desire to play professional football. Even though he is now 44-years old, Owens believes that he can still be a playmaker at wide receiver.
As of right now, no NFL teams are knocking on Terrell Owens’ door, but he is receiving interest from Canada.
On June 19, the Edmonton Eskimos put Owens on their negotiation list on and now he has activated his 10-day clause, according to Justin Dunk of 3downnation.com.
This means that Edmonton has a certain amount of time to either offer Owens a contract or ultimately release his rights. Dunk reported that the former NFL wide receiver made the request on July 14.
Jason Staroszik, Owens’ agent, told ESPN that the former NFL wideout wants to play pro football again.
“He wants to play in the NFL,” Staroszik said. “But if he can’t, the CFL is the next-best option.”
It would be an utter surprise to see Owens back on a football field. He has not played in an NFL regular season game since 2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals and was cut by the Seattle Seahawks in the summer of 2012.
After his short stint with Seattle, Owens decided to take his talents to indoor football, playing with the Allen Wranglers. At that time, it was odd to see Owens playing indoor football because of everything he accomplished in the NFL.
How much could Terrell Owens make in the CFL?
Nevertheless, if the Eskimos decide to actually take up Owens’ clause, they could offer him a two-year deal worth the CFL league minimum of $54,000 per season.
Straoszik, who is based out of Edmonton, told ESPN that Owens is unlikely to accept a minimum contract.
That is a bold statement from Straoszik, especially since Owens has not played a down of organized football in six years. It would be foolish for Edmonton, who already has a good receiver unit to offer Owens anything more than that amount.
This is not the NFL. Owens actually has to earn his stripes in the CFL. Just ask Johnny Manziel, who is learning this with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Manziel is backing up Jeremiah Masoli, who is a solid CFL quarterback.
Despite the press and glamour that comes with his name, Manziel still has to play his way onto the field.
One of these days, Terrell Owens will eventually give up the dream of playing professional football again. But until then, the guy who had a decorated 16-year NFL career will still think that he can compete with guys 10 plus years younger than him.
