Dallas CowboysFor five years, Terrell Owens got to see Jerry Rice up close in NFL team San Francisco. Rice, the NFL team all-time leading receiver and considered by many to be the best player, regardless of position, to play in the NFL, was able to play 21 years for three different teams until he was 42.
Before the Dallas Cowboys signed Owens to a four-year, $34 million deal this week, Rice's name came up. With Owens turning 35 in December, age was (or is) a concern. To Owens, who will be 38 at the end of this contract, age is just a number. All team sports information reports, to owner and general manager Jerry Jones, Owens is "uniquely physically fit."
Owens has played a full 16-game season just twice since 2000, although his 2005 season was ended when Philadelphia suspended him. But Jones said the injuries that sidelined Owens in 2004 (the ankle injury suffered on a Roy Williams' horse-collar tackle) and last season, when a high ankle sprain cost him a game and left him gimpy in the playoffs for Dallas Cowboys, were not a result of age but accidents. With a $12.9 million signing bonus, the Dallas Cowboys proved they weren't concerned about age, much the same way they dealt with cornerback Terence Newman. He turns 30 before the season and was recently signed to a six-year extension with $22 million guaranteed.
Rice's workouts were legendary and Owens joined in a few, but mostly observed Rice's ability to produce even at an older age. Owens' workouts are just as legendary. Owens' statistics have been remarkably consistent. He has had at least 13 touchdown catches in six of the last eight seasons. He had six touchdown receptions in seven games for the Eagles in 2005 and has 28 TD catches over the last two years for the Dallas Cowboys.