Terrell Owens Makes An Agent Change, Still Hopes For Return To NFL

The team’s statement announcing the move left little doubt about how they felt about relationship with T.O. But TMZ says T.O. is considering other options.

And now he’s considering a lawsuit against them.

The Terrell Owens Arena League experiment is over after the Allen Wranglers cut the former All-Pro NFL wide receiver on Tuesday. The reasons probably won’t surprise you.

↵↵The team added Owens refused to play in upcoming road games in Nebraska and Everett, Wash. Again, probably not the most shocking thing in the world, but still ... yikes.

Eric Schmoldt at Sports Radio Interviews transcribed Owens’ interview with 790 The Zone in Atlanta where he talked about his appearance on Dr. Phil and his continued attempts to return to the NFL.

Owens also spoke about his past dealings with teammates in his younger years and whether he has any regrets.

In front of a crowd on Wednesday night, Owens reiterated however that he’s not done playing the NFL and still wants to make it back into the league. “It was an opportunity for myself and my family,” Owens told a crowd of nearly 700 people. “It’s a way for myself to keep in shape. I haven’t retired from the NFL. I want to play a couple more years. This right here will allow me to do that and assess where I am. I know I’m physically fit to play the game still.”

The Wrangler’s season begins on Feb. 25 at home against the Wichita Wild and lasts through June 16, just in time for Owens to attempt to sign on with an NFL team again. There was some thought that Owens might just finally retire, but he claims he’s going to get back into the NFL.

Terrell Owens is, apparently back in football. On Wednesday evening, Owens hopped on something called beeyoo to release a video to his fans, announcing his next career move. But he won’t be in a Dallas Cowboys uniform, or any other NFL uniform this time around. Owens is joining the Allen Wranglers of the IFL.

Here’s the video, in which Owens implores fans to “get your popcorn ready.” Popcorn is a big deal in the arena world, apparently.

Owens does have a rumored mid-six-figures offer on the table from the Indoor Football League’s Allen Wranglers, whom you are hearing about for the first time. It’s unknown if this is a real possibility for just a publicly stunt, which, sums up Owens career in the last 3-4 years perfectly.

Terrell Owens could be coming to an arena near you, if Allen Wranglers general manager Drew Pearson is to be believed. Pearson, along with owner Jon Frankel, announced his team is nearing a deal that would pay Owens in the mid-six-figures in addition to some sort of ownership stake in the team.

Pearson felt the deal was progressing nicely and has a realistic chance of being completed.

But Owens had a good reason to miss the hearing ... or maybe not.

Remember, nobody showed up to the workout, other than cameras from NFL Network. Owens tried to reschedule the court date to no avail, leading to the arrest warrant after he simply didn’t show up the hearing.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus has said he hasn’t gotten any calls from NFL teams but there is one football team out there that’s offered a contract -- an Arena Football league team. The Chicago Rush, looking to capitalize on the T.O. attention, announced on Wednesday that they’ve extended a contract offer to Owens.

Unfortunately for T.O. this may be his best shot at getting on the field this season.

“This is what I’ve been training for, I’m not worried about the naysayers who say that I can’t come back, that I’m wasting my time. I think what I showed today -- it speaks for itself,” Owens told the media afterward.

By all accounts, it wasn’t a very flattering performance.

Time will tell if some team gets desperate at receiver and needs to add someone like Owens.

Just a day after agent Drew Rosenhaus said Terrell Owens was ready to return from his torn ACL, and could play this Sunday, Rosenhaus announced an open workout in California, set for next Tuesday. Owens has been rehabbing his surgically-repaired ACL while maintaining he’s ready to play recently.

According to Rosenhaus, Owens plans to show off his progress, and readiness, in the workout.

Per Rosenhaus:

That said, some team out there may look to add T.O. down the stretch, a team like the Tennessee Titans, who didn’t completely close the door on the idea of signing Owens at some point.

As Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith notes, this apparently means that the 3-2 Titans are in win-now mode -- a spot not many onlookers thought they might be through six weeks of an NFL season that didn’t look promising this summer.

TMZ reports an ambulance was called to an apartment last week where Owens was staying.

TMZ reports Owens was already en route to the hospital via ambulance when the cops came so they caught up with him at the hospital. He has since been released from the hospital, according to the report.

A somewhat surprised Smith asked a follow-up question while prodding for the reasons before Owens lamented, “I wish today was April 1st, April Fools, because I just got you.” The bizarre sequence of events, and awkward interview, was part of a conversation that served more as a plea for a team to pick Owens up, with the false retirement statement serving as the attention-grabber.

Watch for yourself after the jump.

He previously said he wanted to return by the first month of the season but, for now, he’s still working on rehabbing his knee and he’s doing that in Korea. The Korea Times reports that Owens is visiting the Chaum Anti-Aging Center in Korea and will be undergoing some sort of stem cell therapy.

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning went to Europe for stem cell therapy earlier this year as well. The doctor quotes in the Korea Times story even notes they want more stars to come there.

A significant injury like an ACL tear is bad for anyone but it’s especially difficult to return from if you’re going to be 38 years old soon. That’s why some people, like Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, believe Owens may never play in the league again.

In fact, Freeman reports Owens has told people he is considering retirement.

By now everyone knows the news of the day: WR Terrell Owens suffered a torn ACL, had surgery on it in the last month and is expected to miss six months which will keep him out until late November. At 37 years old, though, it’s fair to wonder whether T.O. will come back in 2011 at all and whether he’ll ever play in the NFL again.

On whether he’ll return in 2011, I would highly doubt it. If he is ready to play in late November as ESPN’s report suggests, the season would be three quarters of the way over and I can’t imagine any team that’s contending would risk upsetting the chemistry in the locker by adding T.O. With him, it’s not just about talent (which he has plenty of). It’s about the off-the-field attention that comes with him. That and he’s turning 38 years old in the first week of December. I can’t envision a scenario where a team brings him on in 2011.

The following season is when all hell broke loose. T.O. complained about his contract -- he was entering the second season of a seven-year, $49 million deal -- and threatened to hold out of training camp. Ultimately, he was suspended four games by the Eagles for some of his actions.

SB Nation’s Bleeding Green Nation has reacted to the news that Owens suffered a torn ACL -- reportedly while filming a show for VH1 -- and that could be out six months. BGN calls it a “unfortunate microcosm of his career.”