Schneider: Signing Owens a ‘no-brainer’ after workout
Aug 7, 2012, 10:40 AM | Updated: 11:04 am
By Brady Henderson
Seahawks general manager John Schneider just spoke with “Brock and Salk” about the addition of Terrell Owens. A few highlights from that conversation:
Size was needed. Schneider said the Seahawks wanted a bigger receiver after releasing Mike Williams. They’re still high on their other receivers — Schneider said Deon Butler, Golden Tate and Ben Obomanu have had nice camps so far — but Owens’ addition provides insurance in case some of the youngsters aren’t ready.
Impressive workout. Owens worked out for the Seahawks on Monday, and while Schneider wouldn’t specify Owens’ time in the 40-yard dash — he reportedly ran it in under 4.5 seconds — Schneider said he was “blown away” by the workout and that Owens’ shape is “quite ridiculous” for a 38-year-old. Specifically, Schneider noted how fast and fluid Owens looked while running certain routes. The workout “made it a no-brainer” to pursue a deal with Owens, Schneider said, provided he would agree to play by the team’s rules, so to speak.
Owens’ attitude. Schneider said coach Pete Carroll handled the conversation about how Owens would need to conduct himself and whether he was “ready to be part of a team instead of being the center of a team.” Schneider acknowledged Owens’ reputation as a bad teammate and a so-called “quarterback killer,” but said his two most recent stops, Buffalo in 2009 and Cincinnati in 2010, were incident-free. Schneider: “I think if you reached out to Carson Palmer, Carson would speak very highly of his guy, the way he conducted himself and the way he helped Chad [Johnson] and a lot of the things that he did with a lot of the young guys there like [Jerome] Simpson and a couple other players. So I think it’s a fair question, but at this point we’re comfortable with the terms of it.”
Owens is not expected to practice with the team until Wednesday.
Related: Plenty to like about the Seahawks signing Terrell Owens