Free-agent wide receiver Terrell Owens suggested Wednesday that his perceived character issues are fueled by the media and the reason he has yet to sign with a team this offseason.
Appearing on Nashville's 104.5 The Zone, Owens was asked if he was frustrated or surprised that he hasn't been signed by an NFL team. Market for Owens?
(Sidebar) NFL Network's Michael Lombardi says the lack of a market for Terrell Owens is due to a combination of three factors: His character questions, his deteriorating skills and his contract demands. More ...
"A little bit of both," he said.
"People have listened to a lot of the commentaries throughout a lot of the media outlets, mainly ESPN, that has my character in question as far as things that have happened in the past," Owens told the radio station.
"I may do 99 good things right and if I do one thing wrong, ESPN and the people on there ... make it out to be the worst thing ever."
"I think with the years that I've had, the last three to four years, I feel like I've tried to turn over a new leaf," Owens said. "But still they won't let go of what I did in the past."
Owens cited his good behavior with the Bills last season as evidence that he has changed.
"There was definitely a lot of opportunity for me to fly off the handle with the way things went. I stayed composed."
Owens appeared on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" in early June, and pointed out that the Cincinnati Bengals never mentioned his reputation during his March visit with team
"If character was such an issue, I don't think Cincinnati would have brought me in," he said, while also revealing that Donovan McNabb, his former nemesis with the Philadelphia Eagles, discussed a reunion before being traded to the Washington Redskins.
"I've heard a lot of the reasons why I'm not on a team right now," Owens said "It's because people feel I've disrupted some teams, I'm a cancer -- I've heard all those things. They've said that for the last five, six years. The teams I've been on, if you ask in that locker room how I've been as a teammate and as a person, it's contradictory to what's been displayed out there."
Owens said he doesn't have a problem competing for a roster spot. He also acknowledged he might not find a team until training camps begin in late July.
