Terrell Owens: Tennessee Titans Would Be Insane to Sign T.O.

Terrell Owens is the perfect fit for the Tennessee Titans on paper, but in reality, T.O. would send the franchise up in flames.  With stud wide receiver Kenny Britt out for the season with a torn ACL, the initial response to such a loss would be that the Titans need to find a notable replacement.  That may be true, but Owens isn’t the right guy for the job.

Tennessee may look the part of a contender through the first four weeks of the season at 3-1, but the Titans are still a young team.  They drafted Jake Locker in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft because they aren’t ready to contend for a Super Bowl just yet.  At 37 years old, T.O. will never catch a pass from Locker.

Owens would be a one-year fix and the Titans' one-year fix last season didn’t turn out too well.  After Britt went down with an injury last year, they signed Randy Moss, who did absolutely nothing during his time in two-tone blue.  Now, part of that was the coaching staff’s fault, but the mix of Moss on such a young team just wasn’t a good fit.

Being that Owens has struggled to find a legitimate contender willing to roll the dice on him the past two offseasons as he’s landed with the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, the Titans are a realistic option.  He actually almost signed with Tennessee back in 2009, but eventually decided to take more money with the Bills.  Unlike Moss, Owens will play hard, even on poor teams, but that doesn’t mean he won’t cause problems in the locker room.

He didn’t get along with Trent Edwards, and Owens has to be at least partially credited with making Carson Palmer go insane.  Matt Hasselbeck seems mentally capable of handling a loud-mouth receiver like T.O., but he isn’t worth the risk.  The Titans have young receivers with the potential to step in for Britt, and adding Owens would prohibit that from happening.

Jared Cook is a freak athlete tight end that could develop into a matchup nightmare.  Damian Williams is a precise route runner that would fit nicely opposite Britt for years to come.  The newly-signed Donnie Avery is as explosive as they come and could resurrect his injury-plagued career with the Titans.

The addition of T.O. would take opportunities away from Cook, Williams and Avery, three receivers who will be catching passes from Locker in the future.

Maybe back in 2009 it would’ve been a good idea to sign Owens, but not now.

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