Terrell Owens has been off the NFL grid since the Seattle Seahawks cut him during training camp last summer.
The writing certainly appears to be on the wall for the 39-year-old wide receiver, who said last week he'd formally retire if he couldn't find work in 2013.
Owens still burns to play, and his best recourse is to stay in shape (never a problem for T.O.) while keeping his name in the public consciousness. And so it was that Owens rolled out of bed early Wednesday for a morning of chatter on NFL Network's "NFL AM."
Has Owens heard from another NFL team since his release from the Seahawks?
"Nothing as of right now," he said. "So I understand the process. Obviously teams are really taking a closer look in evaluating their younger players. Being a free agent, I understand that later in the months as training camp starts, they'll start looking for veterans."
Though he obviously can't be choosy at this stage, Owens explained his best fit would come with a team operating a West Coast offense. He cited the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs as options.
Owens has a good relationship with Vikings wide receivers coach George Stewart. The Chiefs are coached by Andy Reid, for whom Owens played on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Owens believes he's still being punished for his antics earlier in his career.
"It's all politics," he said. "I think a lot of it has to do with my reputation, things that I've done early in my career. I'm a changed person. I'm a bit more mature than I was in years past, and I think if anybody out there can look past that and look what I can bring to the team than some of the things that happened in the past, I can look past it and maybe they could, and I could go in and help a team develop some of those younger guys."
It's a familiar message from Owens, who has been selling himself as a playmaker in need of an opportunity for the better part of two years now. Time is running out.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
