Terrell Owens has tried his darndest -- and failed -- all year to return to the NFL, but it looks like he might be willing to settle for, wait for it ...
The Indoor Football League?
That appears to be the case, according to Allen Wranglers general manager Drew Pearson, who said Thursday that Owens is on the verge of joining the league's suburban Dallas team.
"We're very close," Pearson, a former Cowboys wide receiver from 1973 to 1983, said on KESN-FM (via ESPNDallas.com). "Jon Frankel, our owner, has been working on this for quite some time now.
"When he started, he felt there was maybe about a zero percent chance he could get it done, but through his persistent efforts and really wanting to make this happen, he has been able to make contact with their people. Now it's in a stage where he thinks it's at the point where it's about 70 percent done and close to being finalized, so we'll see how it shakes out from this point."
The Wranglers' official website announced that a compensation package worth $250,000 up to $500,000 has been offered to Owens.
Well, you can file this under "didn't see that coming." All week, speculation has been that Owens maybe -- just maybe -- could get the 49ers to bite after they released Braylon Edwards on Tuesday. But that isn't going to happen, as it looks like San Francisco will promote a practice-squad player to fill its receiver void.
In addition to having offseason surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and the fact that he's 38 years old, one big reason teams have shied away from T.O. -- and this applies to the 49ers as they prepare for the playoffs -- is the media circus that would ensue. Pearson and the Wranglers, though, would welcome it with open arms.
"We want to ignite that fire and to bring the attention to the Allen Wranglers," Pearson said.
Terrell Owens finishing his career with the Allen Wranglers? Sounds worse than Jerry Rice announcing his retirement as a Denver Bronco.