I find this curious that this information was leaked after we learned that T.O. was done for the year with a knee injury. What is the point of making sure this got out to the public?
If the point was to make it as hard as possible for T.O. to find a job in the league next year, mission accomplished.
Per a league source, the Bengals debated the possibility of choosing to put T.O. on ice each of the last three games of the season. Though a team can’t send a player home with pay, it is impossible as a practical matter for the NFLPA to challenge a coaching decision to make a given player one of the eight per game who don’t dress on Sunday.
The move would not have been based on Owens’ controversial comments from the latest edition of The T.Ocho Show, but based on his attitude and performance in practice and games.
With Owens it is almost impossible to discern how much he is to blame or is it just the media making a bigger story than it is? I don’t know how they could deactivate him based on performance since he has been the best wide receiver on the team. I have never heard anyone question Owens’ practice habits. Now his attitude that is something totally different, but is his attitude that much different than the majority of the Bengals roster?
It’s hard to tell, but not very professional on the Bengals part if they were the ones to leak the story. If Owens was that much of a problem, handle it internally not through Peter King.