T.O. Blames the NFL and the 49ers not his agent lol!

[TONE DOG THE 01]

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Terrell Owens believes the NFL and the San Francisco 49ers are responsible for his contract predicament -- not his agent.


Owens, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, is still under contract to the 49ers after his agent missed the NFL deadline for notifying the team of his intention to void the final three years of his deal. Owens and agent David Joseph claim they weren't told that the deadline had been moved up 10 days to Feb. 21.


"I can assure you that neither my agent nor myself made a mistake like this," Owens told Sporting News Radio on Friday. "For people to go out and say my agent made a mistake is utterly ridiculous and insane."


Owens said neither he nor his agent ever received notification of the advanced deadline. Joseph has filed a grievance with the NFL Management Council through the players' union, but a hearing hasn't been scheduled.


Owens hoped to land a big contract as an unrestricted free agent, but unless Thursday's league ruling is overturned, the 49ers will be free to keep Owens' rights or trade him. San Francisco officials had no comment on the situation Friday.


Owens criticized the 49ers for showing "no loyalty" and ripped team consultant Bill Walsh during the interview, but didn't rule out returning to his only NFL team.


"With these distractions going on, I'm going to prepare myself harder than I ever have," Owens said. "I don't foresee myself being in San Francisco, but if that's the case, they know the type of player they are going to get.

 

[TONE DOG THE 01]

After an apparent paperwork error kept Terrell Owens from voiding the rest of his contract and getting free-agent status, the 49ers' star receiver says "I can assure you that neither my agent nor myself made a mistake like this."

Appearing on Sporting News Radio's James Brown Show, Owens said he still doesn't expect to be with the Niners next season and that the thought of his agent making such a big mistake is "utterly ridiculous and insane."

Owens said there was no Feb. 21 deadline in his contract and that he had until March 2 to file the proper paperwork. But Owens was among several players required to file by a new deadline, which recently was moved up 10 days for players who signed their contracts before the league's 2001 collective bargaining agreement went into effect.

Owens is due to make $17.7 million in base salary over the next three seasons, including $5.3 million next year - a relative bargain for one of the NFL's best receivers.

He had been counting on a big payday in his first venture onto the free-agent market, hoping to land a signing bonus of more than $15 million from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta or a handful of other teams with the cap space to sign a star receiver.

Excerpts from Terrell Owens' interview on the James Brown Show:

Owens on if he is still the property of the San Francisco 49ers will he demand a trade:
"I can't say what I would do. Right now I just want to be put in the situation where I am able to succeed as a person and basically take my talent through the roof. I want to go to a team that has a championship in mind. Right now I don't really know what direction the organization is going in."

Owens on if Jeff Garcia is waived, would that make staying in San Francisco more attractive:
"At this point, I really don't know. There's really no loyalty within the organization. There's just none at all. Hearing Bill Walsh make some comments right before I go to the Pro Bowl saying that I can't catch. ... I've been to the Pro Bowl four consecutive years. I don't think I'd be over there for a lack of catching. It just hurt me for a guy like Bill Walsh, who I would go through a brick wall for, to go through the media and say that. For me, that shows there's no loyalty at all. ... I don't foresee myself being in San Francisco, but if that's the case, they know the type of player they are going to get. For them to make remarks like that, why would they want to keep a player like me if I can't catch?"

Owens on the non-filing of the paperwork for free agency and if it was an administrative error:
"I think time will tell everything. If anyone knows anything about free agency, it's (mistake that was made) definitely not on our side. I can assure you that neither my agent nor myself made a mistake like this. For people to go out and say my agent made a mistake is utterly ridiculous and insane. This is something we've talked about throughout the course of the season and since the season has ended. There are two sides to every story. They're going with the story right now that my agent, David Joseph, didn't file paperwork, in which we did. There was a date of Feb. 21, that 's the date that came out of nowhere. Neither he nor I was aware of it and definitely it is not stated in my contract. Everybody's contract is different and I can assure you there's not a Feb. 21 date in our contract. As far as I know, we had up until March 2 to put our void letter in and we did that this past Wednesday after the franchise deadline. We did what we were supposed to do. The truth will come out. For anyone out there listening thinking that I was just sitting on my butt and David's been sitting on his butt and just forgot and left paperwork on his desk, that's just utterly ridiculous."

Owens commenting on a league source that said 'Terrell has no case':
"Yeah, OK. If that's what they want to say. Everybody can put their two cents in. There are two sides to every story. If there is a letter of notification, then I want to see it. I can assure you it didn't come to this address. Somebody messed up. Somebody screwed up and it definitely wasn't us. According to my contract, we did what we were supposed to do. If everyone wants to put blame on us, then prove it. If there was a letter sent out to either David Joseph (Terrell's agent) or myself, then that is what the mystery is. Regardless of whatever language is in the contract, regardless of an earlier date, we were supposed to be notified. Had David known that, he would have submitted it right after the season."

Owens on what the language is in his contract that he did adhere to that would make him a free agent:
"There is a date at the end of the league season, the league year, up until March 2 or 3. That's when free agency begins. David was looking out for my best interest not to submit the void letter before the franchise deadline, which is around Feb. 23. Once we saw Julian Peterson had been franchised, that's when we submitted our void letter, the day after. Once David did that, they (the NFL) sent it back and said it was ineffective and he was puzzled as to why. They said that it was a Feb. 21 deadline so we were two days late. David didn't understand where that date came from."

Owens on why he waited for the franchise date to file paperwork:
"I've been with David Joseph for eight years. I know David and he's very thorough. He does his due diligence on everything. He didn't want to put me in a situation where we put in our void letter before the franchise deadline and have them turn around and then franchise me. That wouldn't have made any sense. So, he waited until after that deadline to submit that letter. We did that. He was actually down here in Atlanta and I signed it and he told me he was going to submit it on Wednesday and that's what he did. We have the infamous Feb. 21 date that comes out of nowhere that, like I said, neither he nor I were aware of. Someone was supposed to notify us if they moved the date up or back. We weren't notified. I'm not sure who is the responsible party for that. I feel very confident that it will and should be resolved. If not, we will have to take legal action."

Owens on not receiving a letter from the players union stating he needed to file by the earlier deadline and he never received the letter:
"We never got that letter. At the end of the season, every player is required to fill out a locator card and I put my address here in Atlanta. I have my mother here and my brother here and they get all my mail. To prove that I was getting my mail here, this year players didn't get their Super Bowl tickets onsite at their respective teams, we had to fill out a card where to mail the tickets and I got my Super Bowl tickets. If anything else was to come to my house then, I would have gotten it." www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=2182226]fox sports[/URL]

 

[TONE DOG THE 01]

One thing that is clear...He admits not getting the paper work in by the 21st. He is fuming right now and still wants to point the finger at everyone but himself! What a little bitch!

 

[T-Dubb]

just think if he could contain all his bullshit an just play ball, how much better he would be

I am HELLA glad he isnt, nor never will be a Bronco

 

[RAS 925]

T.O. is thinkin FUCK THE NINERS

 

[TONE DOG THE 01]

The failure of Terrell Owens' agent to void Owens' contract in time gives the 49ers some intriguing possibilities, including a possible trade with their cross-bay rivals, the Raiders. And it also pushes them further down a road they had already taken.

The 49ers are in a rebuilding mode. That was signaled by general manager Terry Donahue when he announced that they would no longer be going year-to- year by restructuring contracts to reduce salaries, a policy that has added to the long-term burden against the salary cap.

The new policy makes long-range sense, but it also depletes the team in the upcoming season. They released left tackle Derrick Deese and running back Garrison Hearst (at his request) this week. Guard Ron Stone and quarterback Jeff Garcia are likely next, and wide receiver Tai Streets and cornerback Ahmed Plummer will probably leave, too.

The Garcia negotiations have been about money, as the 49ers have sought to reduce the salary he would get under his current contract, but there's much more involved, as Garcia noted in some public comments this week.

Garcia is 34 and at the crossroads of his career. After three straight Pro Bowls, he had an injury-filled season last year, a disappointing season for both him and the 49ers. Now, he has to assess his future.

He's looking at a team that will have lost two offensive linemen and probably its two top receivers. It isn't a team that can help a quarterback, or even keep him healthy. By the time the 49ers get good again, Garcia's career could be over.

Without Garcia, the 49ers will be significantly weaker. Many 49ers fans like Tim Rattay, but he is really only the ideal backup, a guy who can come in and play reasonably well when a starter is injured.

Don't be misled because Rattay had two good games when Garcia was out last season. That can happen with backup quarterbacks because opposing coaches don't have any video on them and don't know how to defense them. By Rattay's third game, teams had begun to realize that the way to stop him was to blitz often, because he has little mobility. As a starter, he'd be exposed, especially with a weakened offensive line.

Ken Dorsey? I like what I've seen of him on the practice field, but it's impossible to know how he would respond in games -- or whether he's ready. Coach Dennis Erickson will certainly give him enough playing time in the exhibition season to get a better gauge on what he can do.

Meanwhile, Owens gives the 49ers another trading chip.

There's no doubt he will be traded. He's burned his bridges with the 49ers. Even the players know that. On "The Last Honest Sports Show" this week, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, though saying that Owens had helped him with receiving tips, added that Owens' "I approach" was the opposite of the 49er tradition, with players such as Joe Montana, Steve Young and Dwight Clark. (And Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig and Jerry Rice.)

It's always difficult in the NFL to trade player for player, and in this case, the 49ers won't even try. They'll go for draft choices, possibly a No. 1, though it may be better to get a combination of picks, perhaps a second- and third-rounder. They'll have many holes to fill, so they need bodies.

The Raiders are a possibility. Owens' attitude wouldn't bother Raiders owner Al Davis; over the years, he's taken on a number of players considered problems by other teams. Because Owens' salary number next year will be "only" $5.3 million, he'd be cheaper than what the Raiders would have to pay their No.

1 pick, which is a consideration because of the Raiders' revenue problems. And, Davis definitely has a "The Future Is Now" attitude, which makes a proven veteran appealing.

Owens and Jerry Porter could be a formidable pair for the Raiders, with Rice in reserve as the third receiver, a possession-type receiver. Tim Brown? He has nothing left, but he'd hang on because he's Davis' pet.

There will be other bidders, because there are teams that need a wide receiver who, when the mood strikes him, can be something special. There are two wide receivers in the draft, Larry Fitzgerald and Mike Williams, who are highly regarded, but there are more than two teams needing help at the position.

It's an interesting twist. Owens was regarded as the successor to Rice, but his time with the team has been turbulent. It would be ironic if his biggest contribution to the team is the draft choices they can get with his departure.

E-mail Glenn Dickey at [email protected].

 

[gimpypimp]

T.O. may have a case.

If it is written into his contract that he had until the end of the season, March 2nd or 3rd...whatever it is, then he may win his grievance.

Don't start talking about trades and such just yet.