By Jim Scott
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — The New York Jets are considering adding yet another colorful character to their locker room.
The Jets have expressed interest in signing free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens, ESPN reported Tuesday. However, the Jets' talks with Owens' agent Drew Rosenhaus are only exploratory, according to a source cited by the Daily News.
Owens, 36, is a surefire future Hall-of-Famer, but the talented wide receiver has clashed with teammates and management in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas before landing in Buffalo last season.
At the very least, an Owens-Jets marriage would give football fans one more reason to watch HBO's training camp documentary "Hard Knocks" in August.
Owens, who already stars in the VH1 reality series "The T.O. Show," was on his best behavior last season, but failed to deliver for the 6-10 Buffalo Bills. The six-time Pro Bowler caught a pedestrian 55 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns.
But Buffalo's offensive line was one of the worst in the NFL and Bills quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick won't be mistaken for Peyton Manning anytime soon.
Adding the controversial Owens to the mix would be a luxury for New York, which already has three quality wide outs in Jerrico Cotchery, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes. The Jets traded for Edwards last season and acquired Holmes, a former Super Bowl MVP, in a trade with Pittsburgh over the winter.
Despite public squabbles with former teammates Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo, Owens' talent has never been questioned. His 14,951 career receiving yards rank third on the all-time list and his 147 career touchdowns are good for fifth. Jets running back LaDainlian Tomlinson is third on the career touchdown list with 153.
Owens chances of coming to New York were put at "20 percent" by a source cited by ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Cincinnati Bengals are reportedly still the favorites to ink him to a contract.
