T.O., 48 at the time, wanted to ‘help fill some holes’ after Antonio Brown left the team in Week 17

Plenty of players followed legendary quarterback Tom Brady when he decided to sign with the Buccaneers in 2020. Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to win a Super Bowl with his New England Patriots teammate, while the Bucs also scored on notable names such as Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown. Another player who wanted to join Brady in Tampa was Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens.

During a recent appearance on the “Bubba Dub Show,” Owens said that he reached out to Brady in 2021 to ask for a shot to play on the Bucs in the playoffs, but Brady never responded.

“Tom Brady ignored me,” Owens said, via Pro Football Talk. “The year that AB went crazy … they just needed somebody to fill some holes with AB leaving at the receiver position.

I reached out to him through Randy [Moss] and some other people, just to come in and play third down and red zone situations. This dude ignored me. It just shows you the lack of respect there, but then when they get in front of you they want to act like they respect you.”

That season, Brown staged his infamous walkout during a Week 17 victory against the New York Jets, where he took off his pads and exited stage left — never to play in the NFL again. The Bucs did win the NFC South that year, but were ousted from the postseason by the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.

Owens was 48 years old at the time of this comeback bid, but he did play Fan Controlled Football in 2022. It certainly would have been interesting if the player who currently ranks third on the all-time receiving list signed on with Tampa Bay to play some postseason football, but it’s not too surprising that it didn’t happen.