T.O. for next year?

So Terrell Owens says he would entertain the thought of coming back to Buffalo for year two of the T.O. Show. What did you think T.O. was going to say? “Hell no, there’s no coach, no quarterback, no offensive line, no nightlife.”

It’s no surprise that Owens would remain so coy. I’m sure his agent used some Jedi mind tricks to get him to embrace the prospect of coming back to the B-Lo. Any sort of badmouthing of the team or city, would only hurt his value in the open market. We all know the main reason Owens decided to come to Buffalo in the first place was money.

Last year, no team would touch Owens (even if he would give the franchise proceeds to his modeling and television career) because of him being a “cancer” in other locker rooms. But after a year in Buffalo, it has been nothing but lollipops and blown kisses towards everyone in the locker room. Owens has been able to reshape his image (slightly). Money this time around won’t be the only factor where T.O. plays, it’s going to be about location, location, location.

There’s a bunch of factors that are going to determine where Owens ends up calling home in 2010.

First, lets talk money. The only way the Bills could get Owens to come back is if they decide to give him the same 6.5 million dollar salary. We all know that’s not going to happen. I just don’t see the Bills going out of their way to outbid another team, unless Owens value is so diminished that he only gets about 1.5 million in the open market. I then would look for Rosenahaus to probably get Owens an incentive laden deal. Unless Buffalo gets a top tier quarterback, Owens won’t be biting the bit to come back to Buffalo for a deal like that.

Then of course there’s the “big fish in a small pond” factor. I don’t see T.O. wanting to come back to Buffalo, even if the money is better. We all know Owens is an egomaniac, and he’s probably none too happy that his exploits and highlights (lack of) have been reduced to the last segment on Sportscenter.

Another thing working against the Bills is that their on the field product isn’t exactly flying high these days. Even if the Bills get a guy like Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan, the team is going to be rebuilding next year. T.O knows this, and I’m sure he is looking for a sure thing in his next destination.

Look, I won’t be all negative on Owens. T.O. had high expectations and was suppose to be the savior coming into this season. But he was nothing more than a band-aid on a gun shot wound. This team was dying before he got here, and died a slow painful death after he arrived. It wasn’t all his fault.

Owens did exactly what Russ Brandon and the marketing people at One Bills Drive wanted; sell tickets and faith. Owens may not be what he once was, but I still think he’s in the top 15 for wide receivers in the NFL. My biggest problem with Owens was that he went through the motions too many times this season, and should of been in the film room trying to get better, instead of working on his modeling career and flying to Dallas.

As far as Owens coming back to Buffalo next year…Thanks, but no thanks. The team is rebuilding and there’s actually a nice crop of young free agents in the wide receiver class for next year.

I’ll say this, I don’t share the same venom that most fans and some media members (The Bulldog) have for Owens. This was a no-win situation for Owens. Even if the Bills brought in Larry Fitzgerald, the team would have issues getting him the ball.

I might be overvaluing Owens, but at this stage of his career, he’s more of a final piece to the puzzle than a puzzle you want to build around. What’s more puzzling is that Bills are going 10 years without a playoff birth. At this point, things are so bad for the Bills that they don’t even have a jigsaw to add pieces to.