Ripple Effect: Owens on the Rams or Bengals

It seems Terrell Owens may just find a home after all.

Word has come that the enigmatic wide receiver has been playing catch with Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer recently. Those workouts indicate he’s still hoping to get a deal done with Cincinnati.

Chad Ochocinco has been tweeting that “Batman” is coming to town as well.

The timing seems odd given the Bengals passed on Owens in favor of Antonio Bryant earlier this offseason.

Today’s rumblings indicate the Rams have contacted Drew Rosenhaus on his Willis McGahee playphone. They’re apparently gauging Owens’ interest in coming to St. Louis to play for an obvious non-contender. The unemployed Owens has indicated the interest is mutual.

With the Rams meeting Monday to discuss the issue and the Bengals seemingly interested again, we need to get our popcorn ready.

At this point, Owens will most likely sign with one of these two teams. If that happens, it will have a major impact on the short-term futures of many players in dynasty leagues.

Let’s jump the gun and take a look at what adding T.O. would do to player values in Cincinnati or St. Louis.

Post-Signing Values on the Bengals

Terrell Owens, WR
Owens has built a longtime friendship with Chad Ochocinco and is developing a new one with Carson Palmer. That certainly helps things initially if he was to come to town.

On the field, Owens is a player whose skills are declining. In Cincinnati, he would likely assume the role of the No. 2 wide receiver, playing opposite Ochocinco. It’s possible he could also be part of an undesirable No. 2 wide receiver platoon with Antonio Bryant. That would be a nightmare for their collective fantasy values.

Either way, the 1,000 yard seasons we’ve come to expect would be pretty difficult for him to achieve. He’d be a good red zone threat for sure and help keep some pressure off Ochocinco. That’s pretty much the most we could hope for.

Ochocinco may be expecting Batman to come, but Owens is much more Robin at this point.

Carson Palmer, QB
You have to figure the relationship with Owens is in pretty good shape if they’re already working out together.

The problem with Owens is never what happens when things are good, it’s the downward turns that frighten you.

On paper, the addition of Owens would help solidify the wide receiver corps and add another weapon for Palmer, making him an even better No. 2 quarterback in fantasy.

In reality, Carson has been struggling with his accuracy, especially on the deep throws. If that continues, we could see some serious fireworks with Owens in stripes. T.O. typically doesn’t behave well when his quarterback is missing him on throws.

Chad Ochocinco, WR
Ocho would still be the No. 1 wide receiver for this offense. In fact, Owens’ presence would likely help his value more than hurt it. The constant double teams are getting old for sure. Owens would help alleviate them.

Ocho has been longing for an effective No. 2 wide receiver since TJ Houshmandzadeh left for Seattle and T.O. would be a welcome addition if Bryant isn’t healthy enough to contribute the way we expected.

Antonio Bryant, WR
Signing Owens would be the strongest indication yet that Bryant’s knee isn’t healthy. Regardless of the way the Bengals may want to spin it, this would be a major red flag to Bryant’s value in fantasy leagues. If he was 100%, it’s hard to believe the Bengals would sign T.O.

Quite honeslty, the health of Bryant would become just as big a story as the Owens signing.

Andre Caldwell, WR
This would be a pretty brutal blow to his value and likely lead owners in dynasty leagues to let him go. That action would be tough to argue against.

Jordan Shipley, WR
Shipley’s been a fast riser in dynasty leagues as of late. Owens coming to town likely wouldn’t change his value that much as the possible slot receiver.

Ochocinco and either Bryant or Owens would start on the outside, so Shipley’s value wouldn’t shrink too much.

Jerome Simpson and Matt Jones WR
You have to figure Dezmon Briscoe would likely enter the season as the 6th wide receiver. You’d also have to figure that Simpson and Jones would have a hard time making the club.

Post-Signing Values on the Rams

Terrell Owens, WR
This seems as strange a fit as the Bills were last year.

With a questionable offensive line and a rookie quarterback likely at the helm, it would be quite a stretch to expect more than the 55 catches, 829 yards and five scores Owens produced last season in Buffalo.

The Rams are a rebuilding team with little at wide receiver, so you can see they’d want to upgrade the corps. It’s just odd to consider adding a 36 year-old receiver with a habit of throwing his quarterbacks under the bus.

Even as a clear-cut No. 1 option on this team, Owens would probably be a low-end No. 2 wide receiver at best on the Rams. Expecting him to be a No. 3 wide receiver in fantasy leagues is likely more realistic.

Sam Bradford, QB
There’s no doubt that Sam Bradford’s development as the starting quarterback of the Rams is the key that team’s short and long-term future.

Adding one of the most destructive personalities in the history of sports wouldn’t seem to be the best course of action to protect his confidence.

Let’s just assume it works.

Having Owens would give Bradford an extremely experienced and productive wide receiver to throw to. That’s something the Rams currently just don’t have. A big target like Owens would help the Rams in the red zone and give Bradford a reliable player to look for on third downs.

If Bradford could survive the experience, he’d be better in the long run for sure. That’s a huge “if,” though.

Steven Jackson, RB
Jackson could actually be the biggest beneficiary of Owens coming to St. Louis. Having a threat on the outside would hopefully free up a little space for the running game. As it stands, defenses just simply stack the box knowing Jackson is the only weapon the Rams have.

Donnie Avery, WR
He’d move to the No. 2 wide receiver spot at best if Owens comes to town. That could certianly hurt his short-term value, but he’d still be a valuable commodity in dynasty leagues.

Laurent Robinson, WR
Owens and Avery would be the favorites to start for the Rams. If Robinson would fail in his quest to unseat Avery to start, his short-term value would be destroyed.

His long-term value would be in question as well. If all this happened, he’d only be roster worthy in deep dynasty leagues.

Other Rams WRs
With Owens on the roster, it would be much harder for players like Mardy Gilyard, Danny Amendola, Brandon Gibson, Keenan Burton and others to develop this season.

That, as much as anything else,  makes a marriage to Owens very, very strange.

Summary

All indications point to Owens signing with either the Rams or Bengals. Either way, there would be many questions that follow him to his new city.

In Cincinnati, what would his signing indicate about the health of Antonio Bryant? Could he survive in a locker room where he has to share the spotlight with Chad Ochocinco? What happens if Palmer’s accuracy issues continue?

In St. Louis, how could he mesh with a rookie quarterback? How would his presence hinder the development of the young wide receivers? Would he be able to survive on a team with no chance of making the playoffs?

As usual, adding Owens to a franchise would create more questions than answers. Owners in dynasty leagues just have to cross their fingers and hope for the best with everyone involved.