Terrell Owens out for 2011 season
The Bengals already have one headache with the uncertainty of whether or not Wide Receiver Chad Ochocinco will be returning; and now they have an even bigger headache after his fellow wideout, Terrell Owens, underwent surgery on a torn ACL in one of his knees.
The injury will leave him out for the next 6 months, meaning he could miss the entire 2011 season…if there is one of course! All this, combined with the likelihood that Quarterback Carson Palmer will also be shipped out, looms a big question mark over the Bengal’s offense.
Owens and all those close to him have kept relatively quiet about the injury, and it is unclear on how and when it happened. However, an unconfirmed source has led ESPN, who broke the story, to believe that it occurred whilst filming a television show for VH1. The same sources have also led us to believe that the surgery was undertaken within the last month by well-known Orthopaedist Dr. James Andrews, famous for working on players such as Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Brett Favre. Owens’ 2010 season was cut short by on 19th December when he suffered a tear on his meniscus cartilage in his left knee against the Cleveland Browns.
This season was due to be T.O.’s 16th in the league. In that time, he has accumulated over 1,000 receptions, 152 of which were touchdowns, amounting to over 15,000 yards. The Hall of Fame looms for the experienced Receiver, who is yet to win a Superbowl Ring, but this injury so late in his career could see the 37 year old receiver cut his career shorter; depending on how his recovery goes.
What does this mean for the Bengals? Jordan Shipley had a productive 2010 season, and will undoubtedly be asked to step up further. They also drafted A.J. Green fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, who has the potential to be a star in the league, but with some doubt over what impact he may have with no end to the current lockout situation in sight. With Palmer looking more and more like he will be elsewhere next season, along with doubt over Ochocinco’s future with the team, these could be very worrying times for Bengals fans!
Article courtesy of Damien Jarrett.
