Terrell Owens Comes Out of Retirement to Join FCF

On Thursday, former NFL wide receiver and Hall of Famer Terrell Owens announced he would be un-retiring and joining the Fan Controlled Football (FCF). Owens, who is currently 48 years old, last played professional football in 2012. He is expected to be with the Zappers, the same team that recently announced former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel would be returning for a second season. 

Owens was originally a third-round pick in the 1996 NFL draft from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. He spent the first 8 years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, before having stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals. Over a span of 15 seasons, Owens was named to 6 Pro Bowls and given 5 First Team All-Pro honors. He was the NFL’s receiving touchdowns leader in 3 of those 15 seasons (2001, 2002, 2006), which helped him make the 2000s All-Decade Team. He is currently ranked third on the all-time receiving yards list, only trailing Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald.

Following a season with the Bengals in 2010, Owens tore his ACL. After getting no NFL offers in 2011, he opted to join the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League (IFL) for their 2012 campaign. Despite putting the team under a national spotlight, he only played in 8 games, catching 35 passes for 420 yards and 10 touchdowns. Lack of commitment was certainly a factor, but it helped Owens get back to where he wanted to be. He signed with the Seattle Seahawks in August of 2012, looking to get his 16th season underway at the age of 38. Unfortunately, Owens was released just 3 weeks later, and hasn’t played in the NFL since.

Although it’s been nearly a decade since Owens last took the field, he has given multiple hints at wanting to play again. In 2015, it was reported that Owens still considered himself to be a free agent, and had worked out with various NFL players in the previous months. In 2017, he was a team captain in the American Flag Football League for their inaugural game.

Finally, in June 2018, the Edmonton Eskimos (now Elks) of the Canadian Football League (CFL) added Owens to their negotiation list. This was the closest he’d gotten at a true comeback, and intended to sign a contract. However, the Eskimos removed his name from the list during the 10-day signing window, and the deal ultimately fell through. 

Now, after years and years of trying, Owens gets another shot. Although it might not amount to much, this signing should attract even more attention to FCF. It’s rumored that Owens could also have a role in the media department, which makes a lot of sense given that his loud personality and ego were dominant in the NFL. While Johnny Manziel throwing passes to Terrell Owens in a football game seems more like a fictional story, the FCF has [somehow] turned it into reality.