The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Silence is golden for Owens, agent

By Stephen A. Smith

Inquirer Columnist


Shhhh! That is the sound oozing out of Terrell Owens' camp right now.

Silence. Conspicuous by its nature and appropriate as well.

Because we all know that is the only strategy left for the Eagles' disgruntled wideout.

You don't need to hear, "The Eagle is away from the nest" on Owens' cell phone to know what's going on. Another season is fast approaching. Owens' contract squabble has not been resolved. A mandatory minicamp already has been skipped, and, by all indications, training camp is next on the list of things to miss.

But if Owens is smart - and boy, does he need to be smart over the next few weeks - he'll continue to say very little before training camp starts. He'll act like the boss instead of the client and make sure new agent Drew Rosenhaus is muted, as well. Then he'll go about the business of quietly trying to get something done with the Eagles.

Even if it means showing up to training camp at Lehigh University at the end of the month.

Even if it means replacing Rosenhaus as his agent.

Now, no one's advocating that Rosenhaus be dismissed. The man is an admitted shark who smirks while eating his prey. The last time I checked, he is the agent of choice for most athletes blessed with common sense.

Except it's not about right or wrong here anymore. It's not about whether Owens should honor his contract, or simply do what National Football League teams do at their discretion - arbitrarily void contracts because the collective-bargaining agreement allows them to do so.

But it can't be about Rosenhaus anymore, either.

The fact is, it has been all about Rosenhaus thus far.

"I called Andy [Reid] and talked to him," Rosenhaus was quoted as saying in the Daily News on June 20. "I mention this because I think people have the sense that I don't have a professional dialogue with him."

The Eagles refuted that claim the next day.

Time and time again, we have seen Rosenhaus' face on ESPN's SportsCenter, Rome Is Burning, Fox's Best Damn Sports Show, Period... and the list has gone on and on.

He's always got that sly smile. Always snatching attention. Somehow, some way, always noting that he has negotiated more than a billion dollars in contracts. Of course, he never fails to mention how successful he has been in doing so - even while adding how much respect he has for the Eagles organization.

Nobody's buying it because no one cares. The Eagles quietly say Rosenhaus leaked information about Owens' contract situation. Rosenhaus, meanwhile, has told everyone from Los Angeles to South Beach to Bristol, Conn., home of ESPN, that such an assertion is bogus.

Meanwhile, there is $48 million to $49 million in contract money over the next seven years that Owens is sneezing at, believing that $5 million due in a roster bonus next spring is nothing but a significant incentive for the Eagles to cut him before the 2006 season.

After recording 77 catches, 14 touchdowns, 1,200 yards, and averaging 15.6 yards per catch in just 14 regular-season games last season, Owens rightfully believes he deserves more of his dollars guaranteed. And all anyone can think about is calling him a fool.

Allow me to digress for a second. For those who think anyone who agrees with Owens is nothing more than a cheerleader and a stooge on his behalf - which I've been accused of being - please remember: I really couldn't care less. Neither Owens nor the Eagles sign my checks. There's no vested interest this way. And if Owens ends up gone from Philadelphia, so be it. Eagles fans will be the ones suffering. I will be just fine.

To me, it's too obvious what's going on. You don't get to four consecutive NFC championship games, your first Super Bowl appearance in nearly a quarter century, aim for another shot, and still plan on keeping a 31-year-old wide receiver. Especially one who probes salaries of colleagues and competitors the way Philadelphians scan cheesesteak shops. Not when you're the Eagles and the future is always on your mind.

On the Eagles' Web site, owner Jeffrey Lurie is quoted as saying that Owens "has probably been victimized by some very bad advice. He's built up such goodwill, especially with the fans. I think he'll realize that the value of goodwill is so much greater than the value of trying to break a contract."

Perhaps, he will. If he's able to live in peace and quiet. Except - from Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, Green Bay Packers wideout Javon Walker, to Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James and a host of the 40 veteran players Rosenhaus added to his NFL-high 89 clients - there is no such thing.

Life is hectic when you're on top. But it is harder when you fall.

Especially when the thump is so loud everyone hears it.

And it's even worse to stomach when someone else profits because of it.

REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:T.O.'s camp HAS been kinda quiet recently. I disagree, however, that his "silence is golden", as Stephen A Smith asserts. It doesn't seem that the Eagles will budge on their stance, and Owens could be left out in the cold.

SKINZ_DOMIN8 wrote:Bottom line idiot Eagles fans, either pay Owens what he deserves to be paid or accept a 9-7 season at best.

HailSkins94 wrote:Everyone knows Owens in in the WRONG in this case because he still signed the contract even though the NFLPA told him NOT TO!! He signed the contract now he needs to honor it, you can't take it back that's why you use your brain the the first place. Props to the eagles for getting him at a bargain and props to them for not budging, that is just good front office mangement. If contracts were'nt honored then we would be in better cap position because we would be getting money back from all of the free agent duds over the years. It's the way it goes...

air_hog wrote:I mean the whole reason he wants more money is because "he needs to feed his family"

General Failure wrote:

air_hog wrote:I mean the whole reason he wants more money is because "he needs to feed his family"

BZZT! Wrongo, chap. He wants a new deal because his agent doesn't get paid from his old deal. Haven't I mentioned this a couple dozen times already?

He did say he needs to feed his family, and that does sound a lot better than "I need to feed my agent." But it's not the truth.

wonker wrote:Does this mean you believe when a player underperforms his contract he should sacrifice money for forthcoming years?



wonker

wonker wrote:Does this mean you believe when a player underperforms his contract he should sacrifice money for forthcoming years?



wonker

...Brunell, Arrington, Jansen, Barrow, Bowen, HECK, this entire team should give money back. They have all underperformed. Great idea.

SKINZ_DOMIN8 wrote:

REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:T.O.'s camp HAS been kinda quiet recently. I disagree, however, that his "silence is golden", as Stephen A Smith asserts. It doesn't seem that the Eagles will budge on their stance, and Owens could be left out in the cold.

Owens is clearly in the right in this instance. He had the BEST........BEST..........BEST....receiving year of ALL TIME for the IGGLES. So freaking pay him what he deserves to be paid. Anyone else would do the same thing in Owens' situation.

I also find it incredibly comical that all these idiot Eagles fans think their offense is going to be as good if not even better without Owens. Yeah right. Owens made McNabb last season, not the other way around. Owens made the Philly passing game season totally on his own. Without him, Philly has no passing game whatsoever.

Bottom line idiot Eagles fans, either pay Owens what he deserves to be paid or accept a 9-7 season at best.

SKINZ_DOMIN8 wrote:Owens made McNabb last season, not the other way around. Owens made the Philly passing game season totally on his own. Without him, Philly has no passing game whatsoever.

Primetime42 wrote:Me personally, I'd rather see a disgruntled Owens come into camp, become a distraction and a cancer, causing an implosion, making the division all the more easy to steal from Philthy.

...but that's just me

As a war of words between Eagles president Joe Banner and Terrell Owens heats up, T.O. told CSS SportsNite in Atlanta on Thursday that he is willing to leave Philly if the team won't redo his contract, which still has six years remaining on a $49 million deal.

"It doesn't bother me," Owens said about Banner's comments. "When it all boils down to it, I'm doing what's best for my family. Not to stir anything up, but I don't really have to play for the Eagles, to be honest. I can go play with any other team and still be productive.

"If [Banner] feels that way, then get rid of me," he continued. "I have no gripes, no ill feelings toward any of the players on that team. This is business. They know how business is conducted. I've told them what I'm doing is for my family. If they can't understand that -- and if they feel like I'm a no-nonsense guy -- he wants to talk about Drew and I -- if we're problems then I feel like we can be adults about it. Trade me. Release me, and we can part ways like adults."

Owens has a specific idea of where he'd like to be traded.

"If Joe Banner can give Drew Rosenhaus permission to seek a trade," he told SportsNite, "who knows, Atlanta might be on the list of people that I could play for."

Owens' comments came after Banner criticized the receiver and agent Drew Rosenhaus in the Philadelphia Daily News.

"If we were dealing with somebody who was looking at this logically and was going to come to a common-sense conclusion, you'd say [he'll report to camp on time]," Banner told the Daily News. "But you're dealing with two people here who, frankly, don't think in common-sense terms. Anything can happen. They're not going to necessarily do what makes sense."

Rosenhaus told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the odds of Owens reporting to training camp on time are "50-50." Owens himself told CSS SportsNite on Thursday that, despite the possible fines, he likely won't attend camp. The Daily News, citing a source in the NFL players' association with knowledge of Owens' contract, reported that the Eagles could fine T.O. five-sixths of the $2.25 million signing bonus Owens received after being traded last year, meaning Owens could be out $1.87 million.

hkHog wrote:

If they can't understand that -- and if they feel like I'm a no-nonsense guy -- he wants to talk about Drew and I -- if we're problems then I feel like we can be adults about it. Trade me. Release me, and we can part ways like adults."