Eagles cry foul over T.O. deal
By REUBEN FRANK
phillyBurbs.com
PHILADELPHIA - Terrell Owens was an Eagle.
For a few, brief moments yesterday afternoon, the often brilliant, often controversial wide receiver was actually a Philadelphia Eagle.
And then he wasn't.
Two league insiders familiar with the negotiations and speaking on the condition of anonymity said last night the Eagles actually finalized a trade with the 49ers and hammered out a long-term, multi-million dollar contract with Owens, only to see the 49ers - against Owens' wishes - ship him instead to the Baltimore Ravens.
According to a league official, Owens' agent told league officials last night he plans to file a grievance against the 49ers and NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw was already involved.
After the agent, David Joseph, made a clerical error that prevented Owens from becoming an unrestricted free agent, the 49ers granted Joseph permission to negotiate a contract with a team of Owens' choosing.
The 49ers assured Joseph and Owens they would execute that trade, as long as they could reach agreement with that team on terms of a trade.
The Jets, Falcons, Browns, Eagles and Ravens showed initial interest in Owens when the NFL's free agency and trading period began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but by late yesterday morning, only the Ravens and Eagles were still involved.
And when the Eagles offered Owens a massive contract with a huge signing bonus, he and Joseph accepted.
Eagles president and chief contract negotiator Joe Banner and 49ers general manager Terry Donahue then agreed on terms of a trade that would send the 49ers a fifth-round draft pick and a player, believed to be wide receiver James Thrash.
"Terrell was ecstatic," said a second league insider, an NFL agent who is familiar with the details of yesterday's negotiations. "Philly is where he wanted to go all along. He was under the impression he was an Eagle. It was a done deal."
But before the paperwork was signed, Donahue quietly accepted the Ravens' offer of a second-round pick in this year's draft and filed trade papers with the NFL without informing Joseph or Banner or giving them a chance to match the offer.
The Eagles, the second source said, did not learn the 49ers had shipped Owens to the Ravens until a team employee saw a report on ESPN yesterday afternoon. And Joseph didn't know about the trade until he got a phone call from the Eagles moments later.
The first source, a league personnel official, said Joseph and Owens were furious with the 49ers.
Owens did not have a contract negotiated with the Ravens and as of now, they are simply paying him according to the final three years of his original deal with the 49ers that Joseph was unable to void.
That deal pays him $5.3 million in 2004, $5.9 million in 2005 and $6.5 million in 2006 with no signing bonus.
The second league source said the Eagles' offer included a signing bonus over $10 million averaging over $6 million per year.
So Donahue's maneuver could cost Owens millions of dollars.
Banner did not return a message left in his office last night. Joseph did not return messages left at his office in Greensboro, N.C. Donahue was unavailable for comment.
Owens caught 592 passes for 8,572 yards and 81 touchdowns in eight seasons with the 49ers and would have given the Eagles their first big-ticket wide receiver since Irving Fryar in the mid-1990s.
Eagles head coach Andy Reid's pursuit of Owens, who he coached at two Pro Bowls, is his first concession of the obvious, that the Eagles desperately need to upgrade their wide receivers.
Starters Thrash and Todd Pinkston combined for just three touchdown catches last year and had only one catch for nine yards - plus two drops that led to interceptions - in the Eagles' NFC Championship Game loss to the Panthers.
With Owens a Raven, Steve Smith re-signing in Carolina and Justin McCareins getting the highest tender from the Titans and off the Eagles' shopping list, the only top wide out still available is Darrell Jackson of the Seahawks, and it remains to be seen whether the Eagles will pursue him.
By REUBEN FRANK
phillyBurbs.com
PHILADELPHIA - Terrell Owens was an Eagle.
For a few, brief moments yesterday afternoon, the often brilliant, often controversial wide receiver was actually a Philadelphia Eagle.
And then he wasn't.
Two league insiders familiar with the negotiations and speaking on the condition of anonymity said last night the Eagles actually finalized a trade with the 49ers and hammered out a long-term, multi-million dollar contract with Owens, only to see the 49ers - against Owens' wishes - ship him instead to the Baltimore Ravens.
According to a league official, Owens' agent told league officials last night he plans to file a grievance against the 49ers and NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw was already involved.
After the agent, David Joseph, made a clerical error that prevented Owens from becoming an unrestricted free agent, the 49ers granted Joseph permission to negotiate a contract with a team of Owens' choosing.
The 49ers assured Joseph and Owens they would execute that trade, as long as they could reach agreement with that team on terms of a trade.
The Jets, Falcons, Browns, Eagles and Ravens showed initial interest in Owens when the NFL's free agency and trading period began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but by late yesterday morning, only the Ravens and Eagles were still involved.
And when the Eagles offered Owens a massive contract with a huge signing bonus, he and Joseph accepted.
Eagles president and chief contract negotiator Joe Banner and 49ers general manager Terry Donahue then agreed on terms of a trade that would send the 49ers a fifth-round draft pick and a player, believed to be wide receiver James Thrash.
"Terrell was ecstatic," said a second league insider, an NFL agent who is familiar with the details of yesterday's negotiations. "Philly is where he wanted to go all along. He was under the impression he was an Eagle. It was a done deal."
But before the paperwork was signed, Donahue quietly accepted the Ravens' offer of a second-round pick in this year's draft and filed trade papers with the NFL without informing Joseph or Banner or giving them a chance to match the offer.
The Eagles, the second source said, did not learn the 49ers had shipped Owens to the Ravens until a team employee saw a report on ESPN yesterday afternoon. And Joseph didn't know about the trade until he got a phone call from the Eagles moments later.
The first source, a league personnel official, said Joseph and Owens were furious with the 49ers.
Owens did not have a contract negotiated with the Ravens and as of now, they are simply paying him according to the final three years of his original deal with the 49ers that Joseph was unable to void.
That deal pays him $5.3 million in 2004, $5.9 million in 2005 and $6.5 million in 2006 with no signing bonus.
The second league source said the Eagles' offer included a signing bonus over $10 million averaging over $6 million per year.
So Donahue's maneuver could cost Owens millions of dollars.
Banner did not return a message left in his office last night. Joseph did not return messages left at his office in Greensboro, N.C. Donahue was unavailable for comment.
Owens caught 592 passes for 8,572 yards and 81 touchdowns in eight seasons with the 49ers and would have given the Eagles their first big-ticket wide receiver since Irving Fryar in the mid-1990s.
Eagles head coach Andy Reid's pursuit of Owens, who he coached at two Pro Bowls, is his first concession of the obvious, that the Eagles desperately need to upgrade their wide receivers.
Starters Thrash and Todd Pinkston combined for just three touchdown catches last year and had only one catch for nine yards - plus two drops that led to interceptions - in the Eagles' NFC Championship Game loss to the Panthers.
With Owens a Raven, Steve Smith re-signing in Carolina and Justin McCareins getting the highest tender from the Titans and off the Eagles' shopping list, the only top wide out still available is Darrell Jackson of the Seahawks, and it remains to be seen whether the Eagles will pursue him.
