Terrell Owens Just Ran a 4.4 40-Yard Dash, And It’s Time to Take His Comeback Attempt Seriously
The 44-year-old wants back into the NFL, and this won’t hurt his chances.
It’s been eight years since Terrell Owens caught a pass in the NFL, but the 44-year-old, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, is ready to get back on the field.
Owens has been talking comeback for a while now, and few have taken him seriously. This video might help change that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkLcW0EBCof
That’s T.O, eight years removed from football, running a blistering 40-yard-dash clocked at 4.44 and 4.43 seconds by two different timers (one held by Falcons stud receiver Julio Jones). NBC Sports Philadelphia provides some more context:
To put T.O.’s alleged 4.43 time into perspective, just five receivers at this year’s combine ran faster.
That would be a faster time than Shelton Gibson’s time (4.50) and Mack Hollins’ time (4.53) at last year’s combine.
And if T.O. really ran a 4.43 or 4.44, he’s faster now than Alshon Jeffery at his pro day (4.47) when he came out of South Carolina in 2012.
That’s insane.
T.O. will need to be a lot more than fast to sniff an invite to training camp, but this certainly won’t hurt his cause. Not that his physical abilities were ever in doubt. In his last season in the league, the then-38-year-old caught 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns. As his Instagram account makes clear, he’s also stayed in shape since leaving the league.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhc6i7pBtrb
But the issue with T.O. has never been physical ability. Remember, this is the guy who was suspended by his team for bitching to the media about the front office’s lack of integrity; the guy who run afoul of the league office with a Sharpie; and the guy who was once fined $35,000 for spitting in another player’s face.
He hasn’t lost his edge in his old age either. Just last year, he told Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson that it’s absurd he’s not in the NFL. “Me not being on the field right now is a joke, and I don’t care what people say,” he said, showing that he’s every but the headstrong pain in the ass that was when he was playing.
.@EricDickerson says it's a joke that @terrellowens is not in the Hall of Fame. T.O.'s response: "Me not being on the field is a joke." pic.twitter.com/050kAp2xn1
— AM 570 LA Sports (@AM570LASports) August 30, 2017
It’s now been 22 years since T.O. was drafted by the 49ers and everyone in the NFL knows his flaws, which are why it’s hard to imagine him back in the NFL. It doesn’t matter how fast you run if you turn the locker room unto a circus.
The latest evidence that NFL teams consider the man toxic comes from Atlanta, where the Falcons think so little of T.O. they’re worried about Jones even hanging out with him in the off-season.
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