Terrell Owens elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The night before the Philadelphia Eagles play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, the man who starred in the team's last Super Bowl appearance, which also was against Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots, has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

The uber-talented, always controversial Terrell Owens, who played parts of two seasons in Philadelphia, will be joined by his former Eagles teammate Brian Dawkins in the 2018 class, according to Mike Klis of 9 News in Denver

After spending the first eight seasons of his career playing for the San Francisco 49ers, the Eagles acquired Owens in March of 2004, in an especially complicated three-team trade involving the Eagles, 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. 

In 2004, his first season with Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, Owens caught 77 passes for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns. He did this in just 14 games, as Owens suffered a bad ankle sprain and fracture his fibula in a December win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles went 13-3 that regular season, but didn't have Owens available for the NFC playoffs, when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons. 

Owens, despite not having medical clearance to play in the Super Bowl, delivered one of the great Super Bowl appearances of all-time in Super Bowl XXXIX, catching nine balls for 122 yards. 

That moment endeared Owens to many Eagles fans permanently, though he had a messy exit from Philadelphia, and only played in a total of 21 regular season games for the team. 

Owens, who will tell anyone that listens that he could still play in the league, spent the final five seasons of his career with the aforementioned Cowboys, the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.  

Owens was a five-time All-Pro and is currently second in NFL history with 15,934 receiving yards. Though that number is likely to be eclipsed by Larry Fitzgerald in 2018, it's just one of a few numbers that shows how dominant Owens was. Owens is also eighth in NFL history in receptions and third in receiving touchdowns.  

Go to top button