McNabb Denies Owens Talk, Did Rosenhaus Plant the Rumor?
Either Donovan McNabb is a liar, or someone else is behind the rumblings that he’s interested in reuniting with former Eagles teammate Terrell Owens. On Tuesday, just over two weeks after he was traded to the Redskins, ESPN reported that McNabb was pushing for Washington to sign the free agent wide receiver and was encouraging head coach Mike Shanahan to consider the option. The report was updated late Tuesday afternoon when McNabb told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in a phone interview that there was no truth to the rumors:
I never said that to anyone about T.O. It’s just not true. I’m in a new place, trying to get comfortable, not start anything or push for anything. I am very happy with the receivers I have.”
The way I see it there’s two possible explanations for the game of “he said, she said” that’s being played here. The first is that McNabb did indeed say he wanted to reunite with T.O., but then thought better of it when the report came out and realized it might be offensive to his current receiving corps. Players say things all the time and then realize they don’t sound as good in print and on TV as they did at the time they were expressing themselves, especially when their new head coach openly states he’s doesn’t like the idea.
The other scenario is a bit more intriguing. What if Drew Rosenhaus, the NFL’s most powerful agent, planted the story within the media to create a buzz about his client? Sure, there seems to be a mutual respect between McNabb and T.O. even after they had their difference in Philadelphia, but for some reason it seems unlikely that McNabb would join a new team, with a head coach that already has an impressive resume, and try to call the shots less than a month after he’s arrived.
Think about this for a second. How much interest has Owens actually drawn the past two off-seasons — both when he’s a free agent? Until Buffalo decided to take a chance on him with a one-year deal last season, it appeared as though there may be no suitors for T.O.’s services. So far this off-season, the most noise we’ve heard regarding T.O. is that his best friend off the field, Cincinnati wide receive Chad Ochocinco, would have loved to play along side him. Even Carson Palmer gave Owens his endorsement, saying he’d be open to the Bengals signing him. Yet the Bengals decided to sign Antonio Bryant instead. There clearly aren’t a lot of suitors for T.O. — once again — and you better believe Drew Rosenhaus realizes that. If he planted this information to get a buzz going about Owens, it seems to have worked so far.
Sources:
McNabb denies he wants to be reunited with Owens [Pro Football Talk]
Sources: McNabb open to T.O. in D.C. [ESPN]
