San Francisco 49ers
CHATTANOOGA — Yesterday he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and today former star receiver Terrell Owens was showcasing his skills for Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager and head coach Chris Jones.
Stephen Hargis of the Chattanooga Times Free Press was on site as the 44-year-old receiver went through the paces in front of Jones close to his home town while the Riders enter a bye week.
According to Jones, the workout came about when Owens’ Canadian representative reached out to the Riders’ sideline boss who was going to be headed down south for the club’s week off.
“I saw the video and he had clocked at 4.41 or 4.43 or whatever it was and he looked in great shape so I thought well you know, I’m going be home and he is going to be home in the Chattanooga area and it gave us an opportunity to get him in front of us,” Jones told Hargis Sunday afternoon. “He is a physical presence and it’s just about seeing if he is in football shape.”
The day after his Hall of Fame induction ceremony at UTC, Terrell Owens was at South Pittsburg today for an hour-long tryout with Chris Jones, HC & GM of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Story and videos coming to Times Free Press website. pic.twitter.com/5R6uLYsbR2
— Stephen Hargis (@StephenHargis) August 5, 2018
T.O. discusses routes with @sskroughriders HC & GM Chris Jones during today’s tryout pic.twitter.com/ud5O4oTrdw
— Stephen Hargis (@StephenHargis) August 5, 2018
Owens has been out of football for five years and sparked rumours that he could return when he was added to the Eskimos neg list and consequently dropped a few weeks later after reportedly activating his 10-day negotiation window.
“He and I are going to speak and see how he wants to handle it,” Jones told Hargis. He has some football shape stuff that he is going to have to get into. He caught the ball well today and he got in and out of his breaks decently. Football wise, he has a ways to go (with conditioning).”
At Owens’ age, and after such a long time out of the game, the notion of a football comeback might seem farfetched. But the six-time NFL Pro Bowl selection has entertained the notion as recently as this year, when he was interviewed while speaking at the BC Lions’ Orange Helmet Awards.
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“I appreciate coach (Jones) giving me the opportunity,” Owens told Hargis after the workout. “I wanted to kind of assess where I am physically and see me run. I think that is key if you are working out or trying out for anybody. I’m hoping they liked what they saw and pleased with what I did out there.”
In a decade and a half south of the border, Owens hauled in over 1,000 passes for nearly 16,000 yards and 153 touchdowns. It was announced he would be inducted in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in February.
