5 individuals San Francisco 49ers should have never let get away
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers Say Goodbye to Their Second Best All-Time Receiver, Terrell Owens
Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice is one of those players who could make it on this list. After all, how is it possible to say goodbye to the greatest player of all time who goes on to have a solid post-49ers career?
But the same thing happened to San Francisco’s No. 2 all-time wide receiver, Terrell Owens, albeit for very different reasons.
Owens’ fallout with the Niners has many different levels and storylines. It’s not hard to identify speculative and factual reasons why the 49ers simply grew tired of Owens, his personality and the rift between him and quarterback Jeff Garcia.
Yet turning down on talent is often a mistake. Owens’ 8,572 receiving yards in a San Francisco uniform is almost 2,000 yards more than the No. 3 player on the franchise’s all-time list, wide receiver Dwight Clark.
Owens would go on to help the Philadelphia Eagles reach the Super Bowl after the 2004 season, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro accolades along the way. And while Owens’ subsequent years would also be marked with controversy, the Niners were never able to come close to finding someone to fill Owens’ shoes in the many years that followed.