"Terrell Owens was really ahead of his time”- Senior NFL insider credits HoF receiver for being the first person to refuse to play for an NFL team

In 2005, Terrell Owens held one of the most infamous interviews ever and it was on his driveway. On November 8th, 2005, the wide receiver and his agent Drew Rosenhaus, held a news conference at the player's residence. He apologized to the fans, the team, and Donovan McNabb specifically. He also made an appeal for reinstatement to the team. At the end of the season, the Philadelphia Eagles released him on March 14th, 2006.

Mike Florio on PFT PM talked about how Owens was ahead of his time before social media became what it is today. Florio said:

“Terrell Owens was ahead of his time. Unfortunately for him, he was the original guy who wants out, but there was no way to get out. There was no social media he could use to constantly badger the team... All he could do was shirtless driveway, press conferences. It's such a different world now. He tried to blaze the trail and set himself on fire. It's been blazed now, guys who do want out can make it happen. “

Florio has a point, athletes years ago who didn't want to play for their teams couldn't cause public distractions like athletes do now. With the rise of social media, we've seen many players get traded or released by causing distractions with subliminal tweets and contraversial comments.

In Deebo Samuel's case, his brother commented on a Facebook post saying he would not remain a San Francisco 49er. There was also a video posted online where someone is holding up a sign that says, "Deebo Samuel will be a 49er" to which he shook his head in response.

Terrell Owens was released the next season and signed with the Dallas Cowboys

At the conclusion of the 2005-2006 season, Owens was released on March 14th, 2006. The Dallas Cowboys signed him to a 3-year, $25 million deal and he spent three seasons with Dallas.

Happy Birthday to Hall of Fame WR @terrellowens! Hall of Fame Enshrinement Class of 2018. RT to wish the @49ers, @Eagles and @dallascowboys legend a Happy Birthday! https://t.co/Gqew6nRNBE

Owens finished his career as one of the best wide receivers of all time. After retiring, he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2018 and finished his NFL career with an incredible 1,078 receptions for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns. Jerry Rice holds the record for the most career receptions with 1,549. He finished his career with 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns.