When Braylon Edwards joined the 49ers, he initially wore No. 81. But Edwards was quick to point out that he wasn’t thrilled with the situation.
“I’m not trying to be known as the next [Terrell Owens] or anything related to him, and maybe not even 17,” Edwards said at the time. “Maybe a fresh start means a fresh number, so 81 is temporary. And when the time is right, I’ll find the number that I’ll be wearing.”
He eventually landed back in No. 17, and on Tuesday the 49ers assigned him a permanent 86. So with a vacancy on the depth chart, why not consider bringing back the guy that Braylon didn’t want to be?
Owens has made it known on his Twitter page that he’s interested in returning to the team with which he got his start, way back in 1997. “Let em kno if they need me, I’m ready homie!! I’m ready 2 take em deep!!” Owens said in a tweet directed to 49ers safety Donte Whitner, a former teammate of T.O.'s in Buffalo.
Whitner responded favorably: “I know u are! And I’m ready to Vouch for...and let everyone kno how GREAT of a teamate u were in buffalo!”
The 49ers have expressed no interest in Owens, who tore an ACL in the offseason but who has been cleared to return to action. If, however, the Niners dumped Edwards because he was perceived as being a pain in the behind, why would they want to bring back a guy who became one during his years in San Francisco?