Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens sat down with hosts Joe Spadoni and Joe Shasky on 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” this week, and the conversation quickly turned toward a subject Owens never seems to tire of: whether he could still play in the NFL today.
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The hosts pointed to last season’s playoffs, when Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending ankle injury. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that former Denver assistants Joe Lombardi and Pete Carmichael contacted retired quarterback Drew Brees about returning for the AFC Championship Game. Brees declined; Denver lost to New England, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in August. The hosts then asked Owens if any team had ever approached him about a similar return after losing a receiver.
“No, they didn’t,” Owens said on the podcast. “But if they were to call me right about now, I would be ready. Given the fact that I understand the game, third-down and red-zone situations, I think that’s where I would really offer some help. I would be advantageous.”
During a December 2022 appearance on 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast,” Owens pitched a comeback while the 49ers were dealing with injuries at quarterback. Trey Lance, the starting quarterback, had already suffered a season-ending ankle injury, while backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was also sidelined with a season-ending foot injury, leaving rookie Brock Purdy as the starter.
Owens said he had reached out to 49ers CEO Jed York and offered himself for third-down and red-zone situations and make Purdy’s life easier.
“Oh yeah, absolutely. Hey look, man, I’ve already kind of sprinkled some words out there. Like, yo, if you guys need a receiver, I’m good. Listen here: third down, red zone, trust me. I’m a very valuable asset. I’ve been training … I’m already ready. I’ve already reached out to Jed York; I’ve already told him, ‘Yo, if you need somebody, I’m definitely a viable option,’” Owens said.
Part of that confidence comes from how he views today’s cornerbacks compared to the ones he faced during his 15-year playing career with the 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’m going to use my physical presence, will obviously be imposing and intimidating in itself,” Owens said, responding to how he’d perhaps face a cornerback like Deommodore Lenoir. “So you guys know the corners that I face throughout the course of my career. So these guys, I don’t think they will pose a threat for me. … That’s not to say, that’s not to demean them in any way. But again, there have been corners, I’m sure in terms of comparison, that obviously people will say are better than them. But I believe in me. I believe in my skill set. I still believe in these hands right here.
“I know what I can do with these things. But like I said, you put myself in a red zone situation with [Christian McCaffrey] in the backfield. You got Brock Hardy. You got George Kittle. You got Mike Evans on the other side. You got Deebo [Samuels]. You put us in a formation and on offense. Defenses are going to be, they wouldn’t know who to cover.”
Owens has stayed involved in football since his final NFL season with the Bengals in 2010. He played in the Fan Controlled Football League in 2022 and later ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash that August, giving him something else to point to when talking about whether he could still help an NFL team in a limited role.
And to be honest, Owens still looks like he can play. At a charity football game in 2018, TO caught a 60-yard Hail Mary with no time on the clock.
Owens’ career numbers still hold up against nearly anyone who’s played the position. He finished with 1,078 career receptions, 15,934 receiving yards, and 153 touchdowns, ranking third all-time in NFL history in receiving yards. He spent his first eight seasons in San Francisco, where he remains second in franchise history in catches, yards, and touchdowns.
The Brees situation never resulted in an actual return to the field; the former quarterback’s arm had some issues at the time. Owens is also 52 years old, past his prime when he caught 20 passes in one game, and his own version of ‘The Catch’ in the 1998 AFC Championship Game. However, the fire to play is still alive in the legendary wide receiver.