Terrell Owens is undoubtedly one of the best wide receivers to ever play in the NFL. He’s third all-time in receiving yards with 15,934, third all-time in receiving touchdowns with 153 and eighth all-time in total receptions with 1,078.
There’s absolutely no way you can have a conversation about the best wide receivers in NFL history without bringing up his name.
Yet, somehow, though, the NFL managed to find a way.
As a part of an initiative celebrating the league’s 100th season, the NFL crafted an all-time team with 100 players named to it. The 100-member team had a specific number of players at each position.
Wide receiver included 10 players: Lance Alworth, Raymond Berry, Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Elroy Hirsch, Don Hutson, Steve Largent, Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, and Paul Warfield. Not even a mention of Owens.
He took to Twitter to voice his displeasure about his omission.
Lots of other people followed his lead, saying the league very clearly got it wrong. Many of the people coming to his defense were his peers.
Just like his case for the Hall of Fame, it seems that Owens is once again being punished for being a difficult teammate. He was selected to the Hall of Fame in his third year of eligibility.
NFL reporter Judy Battista, one of the voters on the panel of 26 who selected the team, acknowledged that Owens was indeed a finalist. She couldn’t definitively say that his behavior was a problem, but acknowledged that that could’ve been the reason why.
Via NFL.com:
“It’s hard to say if that is why Owens did not make the all-time list — nobody on the panel said as much, and we do not know how each other voted — or if he ran into the same problem so many other stellar players at every position did: There were so many great candidates but so few spaces open.”
Either way, it feels ridiculous to leave a talent like Owens off of this list. The You can’t talk about the NFL in the 2000’s without bringing him up.
