Getty Former Eagles teammates Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb talk on the sideline during a game in 2005.
Terrell Owens wants to set the record straight on how his Eagles’ tenure ended. Maybe he really wants to return.
Owens, who made headlines with his foot race versus Tyreek Hill, randomly called into SportsRadio 94WIP on Thursday and updated how the drama unfolded in Philadelphia. The Hall of Fame receiver was under the impression his contract was up for negotiation when he first arrived in town. Once he changed agents, to Drew Rosenhaus — and played in the Super Bowl literally on a screw, after signing a liability waiver — the notion of Owens deserving a pay raise came rushing to the surface.
“I had to sign a waiver to play in the Super Bowl,” Owens told the station. “Even management tried to say it wasn’t a waiver sign, and for people to believe that you have to understand everything that went into that and the factors upon me playing in the Super Bowl without any proper documentation of paperwork. If I would have played in that Super Bowl without signing that waiver, the organization would have liable because the medical doctor didn’t clear me.”
It sounds like Owens was being a team player and there was an expectation that he would be rewarded for playing on his surgically repaired ankle in 2005. That never happened. Instead, a feud ensued between Owens and the front office, obnoxiously highlighted by Donovan McNabb’s decision to side with management. A genuine distrust of the quarterback lingered and still irks Owens to this day. Make no mistake, the feeling is mutual on McNabb’s end.
“For me, I came there to do exactly what I did, to help get the city and our football team to the Super Bowl,” Owens said. “As far as him [McNabb], whether it was jealousy or envy or whatever, the stadium having the TO chant, that rubbing him the wrong way .. I had no ill feelings, nothing against Donovan till I start seeing the little things that were being pointed out and some of the things that were pointed towards me.”
Owens called out former Eagles linebacker turned sports talker Ike Reese, too. The two got into a brief back-and-forth on Twitter following the radio interview.
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Owens Gets Understanding from Eagles Fans
When Owens first left Philadelphia, it was a bitter and nasty divorce. The Eagles fined the receiver for conduct detrimental to team — the same penalty assigned to DeSean Jackson — and told him not to come to the practice facility before eventually cutting him.
Owens was painted to be the villain in the story and Eagles fans burned his jersey and rushed to McNabb’s defense at the time. Fifteen years later — after an affectionate nod to former coach Andy Reid for winning the Super Bowl — he appears to have emerged once again as a fan favorite. Or, at the very least, a tolerable part of Eagles history.
You’re welcome. 🙏🏾
The responses to Owens’ interview on SportsRadio 94WIP were fast and furious. Most of them were supportive and positive. Maybe time has healed all wounds.
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Terrell Owens Reveals New Details in Vicious Eagles Breakup