| 25 July 2010
According to multiple reports on Sunday, the St. Louis Rams have emerged as the possible front-runners to land the diva-like receiver known as "T.O."
The Rams need a No. 1 target for rookie quarterback (and No. 1 overall pick) Sam Bradford and they are probably willing to pay Owens more than he could get from the Bengals. Cincinnati already has a lot of money invested in Antonio Bryant and Chad Ochocinco, and the team is not going to give Owens a dime more than $4 million or so. (He made $5 million in his lone season with the Bills last year.)
Owens (and especially agent Drew Rosenhaus) doesn't strike me as an "I'll take less to play there because I have a much-better chance of winning" kind of guy. Therefore, if the Rams are willing to give him a million or two more than the Bengals, you can bet he will sign with St. Louis. There is the outside chance that Owens' friendship with Ochocinco - and the fact that Owens has worked out with Carson Palmer this offseason - will factor into the equation. And maybe I'm not giving T.O.'s desire to win enough credit. With his career winding down, maybe he wants to play on a team that has a good chance of making it to the playoffs. The Rams aren't going anywhere this year as even Rams fans would probably admit.
So, it will be interesting to see how this turns out. But it quickly went from the Bengals being the only team legitimately interested in Owens, to what appears to be a two-animal race between the Rams and Bengals.
My take? He'll probably end up with the Rams. Mike Brown has made some improvement on how he does business, but he's still a penny-pincher at heart. The Bengals no question would like to have Owens on the team, but I bet Brown and Co. are low-balling T.O. to the point that it will drive him to sign with a non-contender like the Rams who are willing to pay him a little more cash.
And it's not like WR is a big need for the Bengals. It would be nice to have T.O., but presuming Bryant's knee is OK, the Bengals have plenty of weapons for Palmer to work with.
Ochocinco is back to being a football player after transforming into a woman during the offseason. The only thing that was missing was a trip to Pier 1 Imports and then a quick jaunt over to Bed, Bath and Beyond.
So, hopefully Ochocinco knows he went out like a punk at the end of the 2009 season when Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis absolutely dominated him. (Yes, Revis dominates a lot of players, but Chad is supposed to be one of the elite WRs in the NFL and he couldn't get a damn thing done against him.) Chad doesn't like it when DBs get physical with him. He can still make spectacular catches that no one else in the league can make - and he can still beat teams deep on occasion although he's probably lost half a step - but he's 32 and it's reasonable to assume that his numbers will steadily go down the next few years.
However, he's still a big threat out there and having Bryant (instead of Laveraneus Coles) as his No. 2 will really help take the pressure off. If Bryant stays healthy, Bengal fans will love him. He's tough, has good speed and usually has reliable hands. Health is the only question with him, but he thinks his knee will be fine and plans on fully participating in all drills when training camp opens on Thursday.
Then the Bengals have a host of players that provide quality depth at the position. They include Andre Caldwell, third-round pick Jordan Shipley, Matt Jones, sixth-round pick Dezmon Briscoe and punt-returner extraordinaire Quan Cosby. Shipley is going to make the team (you don't cut a rookie third-round pick) and so will Cosby. And no, it's not because Brown is a big Texas Longhorn fan, it's because Cosby is the best punt returner the Bengals have had since Mike Martin in the 80's and even the Bengals' front office wouldn't be dense enough to release Cosby after what he showed as a punt returner as a rookie. I know Pacman Jones is also getting reps at punt returner, but that's Cosby's job, period, from my point of view.
So, that gives the Bengals four wideouts that are going to make the team for sure: Ochocinco, Bryant, Shipley and Cosby. That leaves room for two more.
If T.O. doesn't sign with the Bengals, you have to think Caldwell will make the team. I'm not a big fan of his game, but he's received a lot of PT his first two seasons of pro ball and his experience will help him avoid getting pink-slipped.
Then it's a toss-up for the final spot between Jones and Briscoe. I don't think 2008 second-round pick Jerome Simpson will make the team. The only reason he wasn't cut last year is because the Bengals weren't ready to admit they made a horrible decision in reaching for Simpson. But now that more than two years has passed since that draft, they will finally cut-bait.
As you can see, T.O. is not a huge need for the Bengals and that's why I don't think the team will be willing to pay what it takes to sign him. (Which won't even be all that much for a talented player like Owens.) I sure hope I'm wrong though because Owens would really give Palmer an embarrassment of riches. And the Bengals better do something while Palmer is still in his prime or they are going to look back 5-10 years from now and wonder why they didn't surround him with more weapons.
So, stay tuned, but I would guess Owens will sign with the Rams.
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