Mike Florio opined on his website, ProFootballTalk.com, that the Colts could be a possible landing spot for free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens. Florio wrote:
Colts: Reggie Wayne isn’t happy, Anthony Gonzalez is still hurt, and Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie arguably are only as good as Peyton Manning can make them appear to be. So the Colts are another Final Eight team that could be quietly lurking — especially if Manning is privately lobbying for another weapon. Few quarterbacks can consistently contain and control To.O. Manning is one who could.
The Final Eight team comment refers to a rule that exists in a post-salary cap world, which prevents the Colts, or any of the other teams that participated in the second round of the playoffs, from signing free agents until the first training camp of summer opens. This means the Colts would be able to sign Owens on, or after, July 24th — when the Dallas Cowboys open their camp.
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I think Florio is right on the money with this one. I think Owens would be a great acquisition for the Colts. He would bring some elements to the Colts that they have never had in the Polian/Manning era.
The first, and perhaps most important element Owens would bring, is the ability to take every problem, no matter how big or small, to the media. The key to good team chemistry is to work out all of your problems in an open manner.
If Owens feels he is not getting the ball enough, he should tell people. If he feels that Manning is missing him on easy throws, he should tell people. If he woke up and saw his shadow, he should go on ESPN and let them know that the Colts will be getting a malcontent for six more weeks.
The second element Owens could bring to the team would be vital in the continuing development of Pierre Garçon. Last year, we saw the second-year wide receiver struggle with discipline, route-running, and catching the ball.
These are all things that Owens could help foster in a young receiver, as he, himself, lacks discipline, is not the world’s greatest route runner, and some have actually openly questioned if Owens had a bad experience with balls as a child in hopes of explaining his fear of catching them. Practice makes permanent, and with Owens around, the Garçon we saw last year is the one we could see for years to come.
The final element that Owens would bring to this team is a good workout routine. I think we all saw his sculpted, chiseled body when he was getting buns of steel in the driveway of his Philadelphia-area home.
That is the type of body that can only be achieved through hundreds, perhaps thousands of driveway push-ups. Under his expert tutelage, Owens could have all of the Colts’ wide receivers crunching their way through Naptown area driveways.
On second thought, no, the Colts should not sign Terrell Owens — and I feel confident in saying that they won’t.
First, as I have pointed out, Owens would bring elements to this team that the current management has done well to avoid. They have built a team around team-first players, and even when there are disputes, they are handled quietly, in-house.
Second, the Colts just do not sign free agents. The last big-named free agent was probably Adam Vinatieri — kicker of all things. And before that? Corey Simon. Ah, Corey, I look forward to the day when my grandchildren see your dead cap hit come off the books.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Colts do not need Terrell Owens. Even without Reggie Wayne, assuming he were to hold out an entire year, the Colts would field a better-than-average stable of young wide receivers that would be dangerous, versatile, and yet to enter their primes. None of them could replace Reggie Wayne, but they would do admirably in his stead.
Luckily, Reggie Wayne will not hold out and this whole discussion will be moot. He is a professional. He is doing everything he can to express his feelings over his current contract, but when the time comes to step on the field and perform, he will be the first one out there leading the way.
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