Cowboys-Ex T.O.: Still Scoring TDs 12 Years After Leaving NFL
FRISCO - He's clearly not over getting pulverized by former Dallas Cowboys safety George Teague on the Texas Stadium star in 2000. Apparently Hall-of-Fame receiver Terrell Owens isn't over catching touchdowns, either.
The talented, temperamental Owens - whom former Cowboys coach Bill Parcells stubbornly referred to only as "the player" during his stint in Dallas - is now 48 and still finding the end zone, if only in the fledgling Fan Controlled Football League.
Wearing the familiar No. 81 he donned during his 15-year career with the San Francisco 49ers, Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Owens caught a touchdown last weekend in the two-year-old FCFL for a team named the Zappers.
On the same squad with former Texas A&M Heisman Trophy quarterback Johnny Manziel, Owens caught his first touchdown from quarterback Laquan Horton as time expired in the first half. Once Owens stopped playing, he moved into the broadcast booth and interviewed players and coaches during the game.
While Manziel admits to playing in the FCFL for fun because he knows his football career is "over", the unconventional Owens - who caught 38 touchdowns in three productive seasons for the Cowboys 2006-08 - is considering using the gimmicky league as a springboard back into the NFL.
"If Tom Brady can do it, if they can marvel at (him) … I'm no different than Tom," Owens said of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, who turns 45 in August. "I'm looking forward to throwing with Johnny or whoever the quarterback may be. If it's Johnny Football - it doesn't matter if it's Pee-wee Herman - as long as they throw the ball where it needs to be … I'm going to do my best to make some stuff happen with it."
Owens last appeared in an NFL game in 2010.
He concedes that he might not quite be the same guy who earned six Pro Bowl berths in 15 NFL seasons with all-time-level numbers in receiving yards (15,934), touchdown catches (153) and receptions (1,078).
Said T.O.: "Of course, everybody's skills at some point may decline, but I think there are certain people that kind of defy those odds, and I think I'm one of those people."
Not sure if it's worthy of T.O.'s iconic "getcha popcorn ready", but Owens in the FCFL is as entertaining as ever.
