The Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday suspended Terrell Owens for an indefinite period for conduct detrimental to the team, a catch-all sanction that club officials decided to impose after deliberating much of Friday over how to address the latest flap with the loquacious wide receiver.
Owens will miss the Eagles' key Sunday night game against the Washington Redskins and it is uncertain when, or if, he will return to the team. Under terms of the league's collective bargaining agreement, a player can be suspended for a maximum of four contests for conduct detrimental to the team.
The suspension will cost Owens $205,882 for every game he misses, based on his salary of $3.5 million for this season.
Critical of quarterback Donovan McNabb and the Eagles' organization during a Thursday appearance on ESPN, Owens issued a private apology to teammates on Friday, followed by a public apology in which he read a terse statement. One team source said Saturday, though, that Owens' apologies failed to fully comply with all of the conditions that club officials, including coach Andy Reid, had stipulated.
Even after the apology, team officials told ESPN.com on Friday afternoon and reiterated later in the evening that the situation with Owens was still under review, and hinted that a suspension remained a possibility. Said one team official at the time: "All options remain on the table."
The Eagles on Friday spent considerable time speaking with league officials and clarifying through the NFL Management Council various options. Owens was unavailable to the media after his Friday public apology, but did make his weekly appearance on a Miami radio station.
"Hey, if I am [suspended], I am," he said. "That would be a discredit to the team and obviously it would hurt the team. It would be a sad situation."
Here's one of the things he said in a recent interview:
GB: Your friend Michael Irvin recently said that if Brett Favre was the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, they'd be undefeated right now. What do you think of that comment?
TO: I mean, that's a good assessment, I would agree with that.
GB: How so?
TO: I just feel like just what he brings to the table ... I mean he's the guy. Obviously, a number of commentators will say he's a warrior. He has played with injuries. I just feel like (with) him being knowledgeable about the quarterback position, I just feel like we'd be in a better situation.
"I just felt like it was an embarrassment. It just shows the lack of class that they had. ”
— TO on the Eagles' failure to recognize his 100th career TD catch
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