Party Like It’s 2008? Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson All Back in NFL for 2012

What’s this all about? After receiving a workout with the Seattle Seahawks, future Hall of Fame hopeful and controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens signed a one-year deal, presumably for the veteran minimum which is about $925,000. Owens isn’t guaranteed anything, but after injuries and very odd circumstances caused him to miss all of last season and buy, play for, and get cut from an arena league team, he is back in the NFL.

This NFL season already has the makings of something special, but think about the great wide receivers who are now back in the league. Randy Moss signed a deal early in free agency with the San Francisco 49ers, coming out of retirement in the process. Not only that, but Chad Johnson changed his name and joined the Miami Dolphins after spending a very uneventful year with the New England Patriots.

I don’t know what kind of value these guys present as fantasy receivers or even as receivers in general on their teams, but it will certainly be interesting to see them on the field. I happen to think all three players are capable of being very solid receivers, as Owens was in 2010 for the Bengals, but there is a lot of work to be done.

We may actually get to see these guys on the field for considerable time in the pre-season as well as they get re-acclimated to the NFL as they once knew it. The game has changed quite a bit since the last time these three were all really productive, but lucky for them, it has changed in a way that is favorable to them and passing as a whole. The biggest problem I have with these guys’ signings would have to be the QBs they decided to catch passes from. Only Randy Moss knows for sure who is going to be the starting QB of his team, and that may or may not be a good thing as Alex Smith had the best year of his career last year, but still doesn’t appear to be a passing juggernaut.

Owens will be catching passes from one of Tarvaris Jackson, Matt Flynn, or Russell Wilson, and Johnson will be catching passes from either David Garrard, Matt Moore, or first round pick Ryan Tannehill.

This could spell trouble for some older receivers trying to revive their careers, but it will sure be interesting to see how they finish up their careers with essentially one last gasp.