Terrell Owens says he wanted Josh Gordon’s roster spot with Chiefs

Former NFL legend Terrell Owens says he was asking to play for the Kansas City Chiefs as recently as last season and called Andy Reid to inquire.

The last time Terrell Owens played an official NFL snap, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was Sam Bradford and Arian Foster led the league in rushing yards. The year was 2010 and even at the time, Owens was 37 years old, a living legend playing out the final season of an illustrious 15-year career that would carry him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Somehow the span of time since he last played didn’t stop him from reaching out to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid last season to ask for a chance to play.

In an interview on the Pat McAfee Show, Owens recently spoke about his longing to play and his confident belief that he could, indeed, return to the field as a productive player, even at the age of 48. He points to Tom Brady’s continued success into his forties as evidence that age is only a number for some. For those who watched Owens in his prime, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to believe he’s likely still in excellent shape.

Still, Owens said he reached out to Reid, who was his former head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons in 2004-05, to no avail. Here is how Owens described it to McAfee:

"“I talk extensively time to time with Andy Reid, who coached me when I was in Philly,” Owens said. “I was blowing his phone up throughout the course of the year. I’m like, ‘Dude bring me in, bring me in.’ You know what I mean? But they brought Josh Gordon in and he didn’t do anything. I can do what Josh Gordon was doing, which I mean, he didn’t amount to anything really. That’s not to say anything bad about him.”"

Owens’ mention of Gordon is interesting because if that was the corresponding roster move, it does make sense why Owens would reference it here since the signing of Gordon really didn’t move the meter at all for the Chiefs offensively. That said, it’s notable that they brought him back again for an offseason and were insistent about his progress made in practice week after week. That could mean good things for Gordon in 2022.

Still, Owens seems like he might reach out to Reid again at some point given the way he discusses playing in ’22 as well.

"“…it has to be a very unique situation for me (to return to the NFL) and obviously a good opportunity. But again, like I said, I know that I can come in and I can contribute.”"

Any situation involving the return of Terrell Owens over a decade after he last played would indeed be a very unique situation. It sounds like it could have been one that played out in Kansas City, but Reid didn’t allow it to work out that way.