T.O. Joins Ochocinco In Cincinnati
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The circus is coming back to Cincinnati; only this time there will be two headliners. That's right, folks. Terrell Owens is joining Chad Ochocinco in the Bengals' receiving corps.
Owens and the Bengals reportedly agreed to terms on Tuesday, just one day after Cincinnati made an offer to the oft-maligned wide receiver.
Owens' contract will be a one-year, $2 million deal with incentives that could total another $2 million. He will receive a bonus of $333,333 for completing each of the following: 60 catches, 100 catches, 900 receiving yards, 1,300 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns and 14 touchdowns.
Owens' $2 million deal is a significant pay cut from the $6.5 million he received in Buffalo, but that makes sense given his decline in production last season.
T.O. caught fewer than 60 passes for the Bills and recorded less than 1,000 yards receiving for the first time since 2005, when he played only seven games for Philadelphia due to injury. Those low numbers can be attributed in part to the Bills' lousy offense, but it's no secret that Owens is past his prime at age 36 and is no longer a viable option as a No. 1 receiver--or so it would seem given his lack of offers this offseason.
Nonetheless, Owens will be a good fit in Cincinnati.
He'll be a good complement to Ochocinco, both on the field and off, and will benefit from the presence of a quarterback, Carson Palmer, who knows what the hell he's doing. Apologies to Trent Edwards.
On top of that, the Bengals have experience with high maintenance players and high profile media situations. Their history with Ochocinco and the HBO series Hard Knocks are a testament to that.
Sure, Ochocinco may see a slight numbers decline from last season, when he had 72 catches and 1,047 yards receiving, but he won't be too angry as long as the Bengals win the AFC North again and go further into the playoffs than last year.
Besides, he and T.O. are good friends--not to mention co-VH1 reality stars. He's thrilled Owens is coming to Cincy. I doubt he'll have a problem sharing catches with his new teammate.
To reach editor Patrick Crawley, click here.
