NFL Hall of Famer Officially Announces Return to Football

By Brian Jones

An NFL Hall of Famer who last played in the league in 2010 is making a comeback. This week, Terrell Owens announced to ESPN he is coming out of retirement to join the Fan Controlled Football league and is expected to play for the Zappers led by former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel. The 2022 FCF season will start on April 16. 

"I'm looking forward to throwing with Johnny or whomever the quarterback may be," Owens told ESPN. "If it's Johnny Football, it doesn't matter if it's Pee-Wee Herman, as long as they throw the ball where it needs to be and ... put it in my catch radius, I'm going to do my best to make some stuff happen with it." The last time Owens professionally was in 2010 when the wide receiver caught 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns for the Cincinnati Bengals. At 48 years old, Owens has said he has kept himself in shape. 

"I can do a lot of things that people feel I can't do. It's not a matter of me going out there and trying to prove anybody wrong. I just don't like the notion that people see it, even in the National Football League, it's almost like, OK, you've reached a certain age at whatever point in time in your life and they feel like you can't play anymore or your skills decline to a degree. Of course, everybody's skills at some point may decline, but I think there are certain people that kind of defy those odds, and I think I'm one of those people."

Owens played in the NFL for 15 seasons and caught 1,078 passes for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns. He was selected to the All-Pro First Team five times, the Pro Bowl six times and is a member of the 2000s All-Decade Team. Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills along with the Bengals. He will play in a football league that is seven-on-seven and fans call the plays. The games will be streamed on the Fubo Sports Network, and Owens will be mic'd up while competing.

"If Tom Brady can do it, if they can marvel at some of the things he's done, I'm no different than Tom," Owens said Brady who is 44 years old. "Yeah, I play the receiver position. Obviously, the risk is much higher, but with anything, with any sport, injuries are part of the game. I don't go into a situation with the notion that I am going to get hurt or I can't take a hit; that makes no sense to me. For me, I know that I'm a special individual."  

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