Getty Derek Fine, Terrell Owens and Marshawn Lynch of the Buffalo Bills during a 2009 game against the Houston Texans.
If quarterback Josh Allen needs a new weapon on the outside at any point this season, it sounds like a Pro Football Hall of Famer – and one-time Buffalo Bills wide receiver – would consider a return to the league.
Terrell Owens appeared on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday and teased an NFL comeback. T.O. is now 47 years old and played in his last pro game in 2010 with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Comeback season for @terrellowens? 😱💪
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Terrell Owens was just on @GMFB with us. 47-years-old and 11 years removed from his last NFL snap. He wants to still play.
“I can do what people never expect. I can still play. Who’s to say what I can & can’t do? You can’t speak for me. If anybody can do it, I can do it.”
“I can do what people never expect. I can still play. Who’s to say what I can and can’t do? You can’t speak for me. If anybody can do it, I can do it,” Owens said.
For reference, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is currently “only” 44 years old, but if T.O. were to make a comeback to the league, he wouldn’t quite be the oldest player in NFL history. Hall-of-Fame quarterback George Blanda suited up for his last game at 48 years, three months and 18 days old.
Owens Had One of His Worst Seasons in Lone Year in Buffalo
GettyBuffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens sits on the bench during a game against the Atlanta Falcons in 2009.
Prior to spending the 2009 campaign with the Bills at 36 years old, Owens of course had already secured his spot in the Hall of Fame by making six Pro Bowls between his time with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys from 1996 through 2008. No. 81 was also a five-time first-team All-Pro and is widely considered one of the top wide receivers of all time.
By the time he made it to Western New York for his penultimate season, it’d probably be unfair to say T.O. was washed up, but he was clearly nearing the end of his playing career. While he did suit up and start all 16 games that season – in which the Bills finished in last place in the AFC East at 6-10 – his numbers were some of the worst of his career.
Owens finished the season with 55 catches on 109 targets for 829 yards and five touchdowns, which, outside of his rookie season, and then final season with the Cowboys, translated to career-lows in yards per game and catch percentage respectively. Owens was able to add a surprising six carries for 54 yards and a touchdown as well, and did have one of the highlights of his career with this 98-yard touchdown reception.
Though Owens’ numbers in Buffalo certainly weren’t terrible, they obviously weren’t Hall of Fame stats that he mainly showed in San Francisco and Dallas, and one of his seasons in Philadelphia.
Would Any NFL Team Even Remotely Consider Bringing in T.O.?
GettyBuffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens prior to a game in 2009.
Despite putting together one of the most legendary and memorable NFL careers, it’s unlikely that any team will be calling T.O.’s number soon. Not only is he approaching the half-century mark of his time on Earth, but Owens comes with quite a lot of baggage.
Fans of the NFL in the 1990s and 2000s mostly remember Owens for one of two things, his incredible athletic abilities or being perhaps the poster boy as a prima donna wide receiver. Whether it’s his epic touchdown celebration on the “Dallas Star”, the workout in his driveway surrounded by reporters or the infamous “that’s my quarterback” interview during his time with the Cowboys, T.O. was always making headlines wherever he went.
The ambition and desire seems to be there with T.O., but don’t expect the Hall-of-Famer to be making a return to the football field anytime soon.
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Hall of Famer, Former Bills WR Teases NFL Comeback at 47 Years Old