Owens’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday that one team is “very interested” in the receiver. While Rosenhaus would not specify which team it is, a league source has indicated that the team plays in the AFC, according to Pro Football Talk.
And if that wasn’t enough to get the rumors flying, CSNNE.com’s Tom E. Curran points out that Rosenhaus was seen on the Patriots’ sideline prior to Sunday’s game.
Owens is coming off knee surgery in April and will turn 38 on Dec. 7. He had 72 catches for 983 yards and nine touchdowns with Cincinnati last season.
The six-time Pro Bowler is the NFL’s active leader in career receptions and receiving yards, and is second all time in each of those categories (behind only Jerry Rice).
Owens has expressed a desire to continue playing, as he even held a workout last month, for which no NFL teams showed up. He said he “wasn’t worried about the naysayers,” though, and stressed that he only needs one team to give him one chance.
We’ve been down this road before when it comes to T.O.-to-New England rumors, as he stated in July 2010 that he’d “definitely be open” to joining the Pats, and that he’d be willing to take a paycut to do so. He then went to the Bengals for a one-year stint.
It’s worth noting that Rosenhaus represents a number of Patriots, including Chad Ochocinco, but like Curran says, that likely won’t stop people from speculating.
If nothing else, we now have ourselves some good water cooler talk for this week.
