Owens Visiting Bengals -- Wed Mar 10 11:00 am --
Owens: "I Think Carson Is One Of Those Underrated Quarterbacks" | Less than four hours after Antonio Bryant departed from Paul Brown Stadium, the public courtship nearly five weeks in the making officially began when Terrell Owens landed at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. Owens, who arrived from Los Angeles, had dinner with the coaching staff tonight and will visit the Bengals offices tomorrow. Said Owens after arriving: “There’s always been the speculation and perception out there (about coming to Cincinnati) and Chad kick started it and lobbied to have me here as a teammate and I welcome it with open arms.” Ochocinco started the T.O. talk during Super Bowl week in Miami. As receivers started to come off the market when free agency began last Friday, Owens started to look like a more viable option. Bryant, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Tuesday, left town Tuesday afternoon without a contract. He is still considered to be the number one option but will be visiting other teams this week. Enter Owens who had only 55 receptions for 829 yards and five touchdowns last season in Buffalo. “By my standards I didn’t have a great year. Could I have done better? Yes,” Owens said. “A lot of the offense, everyone’s numbers were down across the board. The only person I feel had a great year was Fred Jackson. Considering the opportunities I had and I got my season was OK.” While his production was the lowest in a full season since his second season in the league in 1997 with San Francisco, the 15-year veteran can give the Bengals a deep threat that they don’t have right now. Last year, Owens had 10 receptions of 25 yards or more including five that went for over 40. The Bengals as a team had 12 and five respectively. While Owens has had run-ins with some of his former quarterbacks – Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb come to mind – the 15-year veteran said he would love to have the opportunity to work with Palmer. Said Owens of Palmer: “I think Carson is one of those underrated quarterbacks. His body of work speaks for itself. Obviously I also relish the moment I can play with a quarterback with the capability and skill set of Carson’s. If this is it I’m looking forward to the opportunity.” (Cincinnati Enquirer)
FF Today's Take: Best case scenario, if Owens does end up signing with Cincy, is that he gives Palmer a strong, 6'3" throwing option on deep routes. Worst case scenario, and perhaps the more likely of the two, is that the Bengals' locker room isn't big enough for both Owens and Ochocinco's sizeable egos, and the offense implodes causing the Bengals to miss the postseason.
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