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It took years for the relationship between Terrell Owens and the San Francisco 49ers to mend. The Hall of Fame receiver seemingly burned a lot of bridges on his way out of the Bay Area.
That relationship is better now, which is evident by this weekend's upcoming festivities at Levi's Stadium. Owens will be honored at halftime as he becomes the 28th inductee into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame. He'll be around the team during the days leading up to Sunday's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will even be on hand for Friday's practice.
These days, Owens has the respect of many within the organization. While that now includes 49ers general manager John Lynch, that wasn't always the case.
Lynch
joined KNBR on Thursday and shared why, during their playing days, the NFL safety turned television analyst turned general manager really wanted to fight the former NFL receiver.
"I remember one year in 2003, we (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) came out here and we had just won the Super Bowl the year before," Lynch shared on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "We got absolutely obliterated by the Niners.
"Early in that game, he catches a little shallow cross. I come up and tackle him, and I get up to one of the worst things that's ever happened to me on the football field. T.O. had that big elbow in my Adam's apple and darn near crushed the thing."
Obviously, Lynch didn't appreciate that, and the situation left the Buccaneers safety seeking revenge.
"The rest of the game, I tried to kill T.O.," Lynch continued. "I mean, I literally lost my mind because I felt like a guy tried to end my life on the football field."
The two would confront each other again at the hotel pool during the week leading to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Lynch's wife had to hold him back from initiating a fight.
That's when Owens explained the reasoning behind his actions. It all stemmed back to the 2002 season when the 49ers traveled to Tampa for an NFC Divisional Playoff game.
Lynch said Owens told him, "You did something to my boy [running back Garrison] Hearst!"
Lynch responded, "Well, why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't you say something, man, instead of trying to kill me?"
The two went on to put aside their conflict, had a few good laughs, and have been friends since.
"Man, what a player," Lynch added. "I didn't always like him, but I certainly always respected him. What a career that he had."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch and Offensive Line coach Chris Foerster were in Seattle on Saturday scouting prospects of the Washington Huskies. While Washington has multiple talented draft prospects, the fact that Foerster was accompanying Lynch is notable considering Washington has two offensive linemen who are getting a lot of attention—Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten.
Per source, John Lynch, Chris Foerster looked at several Washington draft prospects today. Huskies are loaded with draft talent, including …WR: Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillanOL: Troy Fautanu, Roger RosengartenEDGE:
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
