NFL Preseason 2011: Which Team Will Play Russian Roulette with Terrell Owens?

In Terrell Owens' version of Russian roulette, five bullets are in the chamber with only one shot to survive remaining.  Owens has destroyed more locker rooms than any other player in league history, but because he's one of the most lethal offensive weapons ever, teams are willing to take a chance on him.  Currently a free agent, Owens the football player could improve 32 football teams, but which one squad will take the risk of playing T.O. roulette?

According to NBC, Owens is only a couple weeks away from returning to 100 percent health after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.  A comeback that quick at 37 years old is astounding. But it’s not stunning knowing just how hard of a worker he is.  Putting together such a miraculous recovery shows that Owens isn’t ready to retire just yet.

With T.O.’s fingers still blingless, you would imagine his first choice would be to play for a contender. But being that contenders have had the opportunity the last two summers to add Owens and passed makes you wonder why now, at his age and coming off surgery, this offseason would be any different.

Well, you know the Philadelphia Eagles bridge has been permanently burned; the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals are on that list as well.  The stable franchises of the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts would never take a chance on a player as destructive as Owens.  The New York Jets and Chicago Bears each have already added two veteran wide receivers this offseason.

The Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens could use an upgrade at the wide receiver position, but they’d be foolish to risk the development of their young quarterbacks in Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco when they’re already talented enough as a team to win it all.  That same concept, not wanting to crush the confidence of an up-and-coming franchise quarterback, could be used for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.  The New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos have recently been first-hand witnesses of the consequences which result from having a diva wide receiver and are unlikely to want to go down that road again.

The New England Patriots just signed Chad Ochocinco, and they just saw what happened on the T.Ocho show in Cincinnati: Carson Palmer went crazy.  Not even Bill Belichick will be able to handle those two on the same team.  The New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins simply don’t have a need at the receiver position, and Owens would retire before agreeing to catch passes from Tarvaris Jackson as a Seattle Seahawk. But, of course, John Beck could fit under that category as well.

If you haven’t been counting, 29 teams have been eliminated from rolling the dice on Owens.  That leaves three that could realistically play with the fire that is Terrell Owens.

Every single season is supposed to be the year the Houston Texans finally break out, but every single season they fail to make the playoffs.  If Houston is fed up with coming up just short, they could add Owens to take their offense to the next level.  They have lacked a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver across from Andre Johnson for years and T.O. would instantly fill that role.

The Miami Dolphins have the same problem as the Texans in that they have a No. 1 in Brandon Marshall and a slot in Davone Bess, but they need an upgrade on the outside.  Tony Sparano came as close as you can possibly come to being fired without actually being fired this offseason as Stephen Ross aggressively pursued Jim Harbaugh and Bill Cowher.  If the team’s only option at quarterback is Chad Henne, Sparano may be able to save his job by giving Henne as many weapons as possible.

The Arizona Cardinals are Owens’ most likely destination because they aren’t just impatient like Houston, they’re also desperate like Miami—times 1000.  Not only is Ken Whisenhunt in danger of losing his job if the Cards come up short again in 2011, the franchise as a whole could lose Larry Fitzgerald to free agency.  Owens would prohibit teams from doubling Fitzgerald and could really help open up 'Zona’s offense, but most importantly, it would make Fitzgerald happy.

T.O. doesn’t have many options, but there other options out there that don’t involve following Randy Moss into retirement.  In just 14 games last season, he brought down 72 receptions for 983 yards and nine touchdowns.  Owens still has the ability to impact a football team’s win totals in a positive way this season, but he also has the ability to impact a team’s record in a negative way—not just for this year, but for years after. That’s the risk/reward that front offices are going to have to weigh when determining if they want to offer him a contract.

David Daniels is a NFL Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter.