It’s been the talk of the off-season since Chad Ochocinco claimed during the week of the Super Bowl that he and Terrell Owens would be teammates in 2010.
It seems as though the Bengals have done enough to stop these rumors, despite holding a visit with Owens earlier this week.
The Bengals had Owens in for a visit, but signed free agent Antonio Bryant to a four year deal worth $28 million, leaving one to believe that T.O. would need to search elsewhere for work, but Ochocinco was adamant that Owens will still be joining the Bengals for 2010 and his offensive coordinator isn’t ruling that out completely either.
“I wouldn’t think that the door is closed,” said offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski, “but it’s going to make it harder now.”
Owens has not gathered interest from other teams as of yet, but he will need to seek their attention because there is just no room for Owens on the Bengals any longer.
Sure, one can dream of a receiving corps that would boast Chad Ochocinco, Antonio Bryant, and Terrell Owens, but it just does not seem likely at this point. However, if it were to happen, this year would be the one to make sense.
With Bryant getting a four year deal that averages $7 million, you can expect that Owens would require the same amount–if not more–on a one year deal simply because he believes that he can still get it done at a high level.
If there is a year to spend money on a one year contract, this year’s uncapped season would be the perfect time to do it.
There’s no doubt that Owens would make that squad better, but the question is can the co-exist together?
We’ve all seen the blow-ups that T.O. is capable of, but the Bengals will be competing in the playoffs, and at this point in his career winning cures everything.
Is it a likely scenario? No, but if there were to be the time to do it, it would be this year for the Bengals. The only thing we can be sure of is that until Owens signs a contract for a team, be it the Bengals or elsewhere, the chatter of him joining the Bengals will continue to run rampant.