The draft is complete. The first mini camps have been held by teams, and this week rookies are reporting back for their offseason training sessions.
However, as of this writing, Terrell Owens is still without a job. Owens probably will end up somewhere, yet the offseason is four months long without any team showing significant interest.
Internally, the Raiders have discussed Owens. However things haven’t progressed beyond that, and it may be a while before it does. Now that Oakland’s offense has been turned over to Jason Campbell Owens might make sense.
Owens, at the age of 36 and turning 37 in December, probably will not have any more 1,000 yard seasons. Only six seasons of 1,000 yards have come from wide receivers at least 36 years old. Jerry Rice had three of those seasons. Older wide receivers can stay in the game longer if most of their work is from three receiver sets from the slot. However the game of Owens’ comes from the outside mostly, running his patterns into the center of the field from the outside.
He still is the best receiver without a job. Last season he had 829 yards receiving, which is more than all other receivers without jobs. He also had a respectable 15.1 yards average per catch. However the problem is price. He may not sign a contract for under $5 million. The free agent market this year may not produce that type of windfall.
In addition, Owens has seen a multitude of lost opportunities with teams needing receiver help. Anquan Boldin was acquired by the Ravens. Seattle lucked out and drafted Golden Tate with the 60th overall pick. Clearly Bill Parcells didn’t intent to bring Owens to the Dolphins, however after Miami got Brandon Marshall in a trade, the door was shut completely. Carolina and Tampa Bay used the draft to get younger at receiver. A majority of the 2009 playoff teams have two or three receivers with 50 catches. Unless the Redskins are looking for something, the door for Owens isn’t open right now.
The Raiders are the only team for Owens that makes sense. That may not happen for quite some time, if it happens at all.
