Terrell Owens Cut: Retirement More Likely Than Return to NFL for T.O.

Terrell Owens is one of the most talented receivers the NFL has seen in the past few decades, but his ego and age will prevent him from joining up with a new team now that the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League are done with him.

T.O. was cut from the team that he had part ownership of after refusing to travel for away games and missing a scheduled appearance at a local children's hospital.

The stint in the IFL was supposed to give NFL teams a chance to see that Owens is still a playmaker on the field, but all it did was show that the 38-year-old is still the same difficult player he always has been.

Wranglers owner John Frankel recently told Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:

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Our fans are amongst the best in the league, and it is impossible to maintain a player when even our fans notice and comment on a player's lack of effort both on and off the field.

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Owens is only two seasons removed from a nine touchdown, 900 yard season with the Cincinnati Bengals, but considering his latest stunt with a much lower profile team and league, no NFL team is going to want to sign the controversial wideout.

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and Wranglers color commentator Drew Pearson recently spoke on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM about Owens' chances of getting back into the NFL, stating:

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There is no question Terrell could still play in the NFL. But it's not what happens between the lines with Terrell, unfortunately. It's how he handles things outside the lines.

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When someone as respected and accomplished as Pearson is telling the media that T.O. still has behavior issues at this stage in Owens' career, it doesn't bode well for him getting calls from NFL teams anytime soon.

The sad part about it all is Dallas' former No. 88 is totally right. Owens could still play in the league for one more season at the league minimum and help a team reach the next level like Randy Moss is doing in San Francisco. Unlike Moss however, Owens has never learned to grow up or realize that he's not the same player he was a decade ago.

Between the Dr. Phil appearances and the VH1 reality show, Owens has shown that he doesn't know how to just keep the spotlight off himself and humbly accept the fact that he's going to have to sign for somewhere in thousands, not millions and play as the third, not first receiver if he even gets an offer.

Owens was a great receiver in his time, and it's sad to see a once great player fall this far, but T.O. has to accept that he's too old and too much of a locker room issue to field many, if any offers from NFL teams.