Terrell Owens fakes retirement, says he'll come back 'soon'

Without a team after tearing his ACL this offseason, Terrell Owens has not been in the headlines nearly as much in recent months. The lack of attention must be getting to him.

During an odd and somewhat-awkward interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, T.O. -- his family sitting with him -- appeared to be tearing up before telling Smith, "I'm gonna call it quits. I want to retire."

Smith then asked Owens a follow-up question, and the free-agent wide receiver replied, "I wish today was April 1st, you know, because I just got you. I'm not retiring."

Once things got back on track, Owens told Smith that his injured knee is currently at "75 percent" and briefly discussed how he recently traveled overseas to explore using stem-cell therapy to try and expedite the recovery process. Owens spent last season with the Bengals, catching 72 passes in 14 games.

Owens has made 1,078 catches over his 15-year NFL career. But there was speculation that his latest injury would force him to call it quits.

He insisted that's not the case -- eventually -- while talking to Smith.

"I'm gonna come back. I'm going to be ready soon," Owens said, which prompted Smith to start yelling about how "soon" wasn't specific enough.

Owens responded: "A month or less, I'll give you that, a month or less."