ILS1
02-12-2006, 03:54 PM
NBCSports.com news services
Updated: 2:23 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2006
As the Denver Broncos continue to flirt with the idea of bringing Terrell Owens on board, a Broncos legend has spoken out against such as move.
John Elway told the Denver Post on Friday that he thought Owens would hurt chemistry on a team that is already close to being a title contender.
"I think there are a lot of things about T.O. that none of us really knows, but obviously he can ruin a football team," Elway told the Post. "If it were up to me I would say no. I think the Broncos are close enough anyway, and they don't need a guy who's too much of a risk.
"The Broncos have a great locker room right now; they have a lot of good leaders in there. To have somebody come in who's worried about himself and not worried about what the team is worried about, I wouldn't do it."
According to the report, former Broncos Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe have also said signing T.O. would be a bad idea.
In other Owens news, the Kansas City Chiefs' interest in Owens has waned.
Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said he was not confident that troubled wide receiver Terrell Owens might soon join his team. Edwards and team president Carl Peterson indicated last month they would be interested in exploring the possibility of signing Owens, who could give them a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver to go with their Pro Bowl running back, tight end, quarterback, tackle and two guards.
“We were approached by his agent at the Senior Bowl,” Edwards said Friday. “We visited — a very short visit. We haven’t heard from his agent at this point in time. I haven’t heard from Terrell.”
Edwards, who was pried away from the New York Jets to replace the retired Dick Vermeil, has a history of making good use of high-maintenance players. But he indicated there would be a limit to his patience.
“I’m not going to bring anyone in here who’s going to distract the football team and not give us a chance to win the championship,” Edwards said. “That’s where it stands. I haven’t talked to him.”
He declined to speculate on how well he might work with Owens.
“I couldn’t answer any of that because I haven’t talked to Terrell,” Edward said. “But if I do have a conversation with Terrell Owens, everyone will know about it. If it would come to fruition that he was here, then you would get to talk to him, too. But at this point he’s not here. I haven’t talked to him. So for me to start speculating on what can be done, how it should be done, I can’t.”
After talking with guard Will Shields and running back Priest Holmes, Edwards believes there is a good chance they’ll be back next season.
It would be a big boost for the Chiefs if Shields and Holmes come back for another year. Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowl guard who was slowed much of the season by various nagging injuries, considered retirement after the 2004 season. Holmes, the three-time Pro Bowl running back, went out at midseason after undergoing surgery for head and neck trauma.
His backup, Larry Johnson, emerged as one of the NFL’s brightest young stars, erasing Holmes’ single-season Chiefs rushing record and making the Pro Bowl. Johnson has said he was promised the starting job by Edwards no matter what Holmes decides. Edwards said he didn’t talk to Holmes about what role he might have.
“He wants to play,” Edwards said. “He just wants to make sure he’s OK, and I can understand that. That’s something you don’t deal with lightly. I anticipate he’ll be back. I’d say it’s 50-50.”
Holmes is scheduled to undergo further tests later this month.
After talking with Shields, Edwards is hopeful he’ll be back for at least one more year. He also said he believes 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf will return.
“It’s easy for a guy to want to come back now,” Edwards said. “The hard part is when all of a sudden you’re packing the truck up and you’re getting ready to go to (training camp). We’ll see.”
Story Link (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11293346/)
Updated: 2:23 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2006
As the Denver Broncos continue to flirt with the idea of bringing Terrell Owens on board, a Broncos legend has spoken out against such as move.
John Elway told the Denver Post on Friday that he thought Owens would hurt chemistry on a team that is already close to being a title contender.
"I think there are a lot of things about T.O. that none of us really knows, but obviously he can ruin a football team," Elway told the Post. "If it were up to me I would say no. I think the Broncos are close enough anyway, and they don't need a guy who's too much of a risk.
"The Broncos have a great locker room right now; they have a lot of good leaders in there. To have somebody come in who's worried about himself and not worried about what the team is worried about, I wouldn't do it."
According to the report, former Broncos Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe have also said signing T.O. would be a bad idea.
In other Owens news, the Kansas City Chiefs' interest in Owens has waned.
Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said he was not confident that troubled wide receiver Terrell Owens might soon join his team. Edwards and team president Carl Peterson indicated last month they would be interested in exploring the possibility of signing Owens, who could give them a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver to go with their Pro Bowl running back, tight end, quarterback, tackle and two guards.
“We were approached by his agent at the Senior Bowl,” Edwards said Friday. “We visited — a very short visit. We haven’t heard from his agent at this point in time. I haven’t heard from Terrell.”
Edwards, who was pried away from the New York Jets to replace the retired Dick Vermeil, has a history of making good use of high-maintenance players. But he indicated there would be a limit to his patience.
“I’m not going to bring anyone in here who’s going to distract the football team and not give us a chance to win the championship,” Edwards said. “That’s where it stands. I haven’t talked to him.”
He declined to speculate on how well he might work with Owens.
“I couldn’t answer any of that because I haven’t talked to Terrell,” Edward said. “But if I do have a conversation with Terrell Owens, everyone will know about it. If it would come to fruition that he was here, then you would get to talk to him, too. But at this point he’s not here. I haven’t talked to him. So for me to start speculating on what can be done, how it should be done, I can’t.”
After talking with guard Will Shields and running back Priest Holmes, Edwards believes there is a good chance they’ll be back next season.
It would be a big boost for the Chiefs if Shields and Holmes come back for another year. Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowl guard who was slowed much of the season by various nagging injuries, considered retirement after the 2004 season. Holmes, the three-time Pro Bowl running back, went out at midseason after undergoing surgery for head and neck trauma.
His backup, Larry Johnson, emerged as one of the NFL’s brightest young stars, erasing Holmes’ single-season Chiefs rushing record and making the Pro Bowl. Johnson has said he was promised the starting job by Edwards no matter what Holmes decides. Edwards said he didn’t talk to Holmes about what role he might have.
“He wants to play,” Edwards said. “He just wants to make sure he’s OK, and I can understand that. That’s something you don’t deal with lightly. I anticipate he’ll be back. I’d say it’s 50-50.”
Holmes is scheduled to undergo further tests later this month.
After talking with Shields, Edwards is hopeful he’ll be back for at least one more year. He also said he believes 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf will return.
“It’s easy for a guy to want to come back now,” Edwards said. “The hard part is when all of a sudden you’re packing the truck up and you’re getting ready to go to (training camp). We’ll see.”
Story Link (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11293346/)