It has become common to revel in the downfall of Terrell Owens, and with good understanding. He’s aging, insufferable on a personal and professional level, has a history of disrupting otherwise peaceful locker rooms, suffers from an alarming lack of self-awareness, and is seemingly just an all-round dickhead. As far as stereotypes are concerned, no one has ever fit one better than Terrell Owens does that of a wide receiver. Hell, the stereotype was basically modeled after him.

Yet since he’s one of the better receivers of his generation, teams have been willing to gamble large sums of money on his ability to stretch and maximize an ineffective passing game. For his many flaws, Terrell Owens has always been a reliable and productive receiver on the field (particularly in Philadelphia and San Francisco). Funny thing happened last season that just decimated his stock: He was cut by Dallas and they subsequently improved, while his age and reputation eventually caught up to him, leaving Terrell Owens without his usual bevy of suitors. As a result, he landed in Buffalo where his numbers dropped considerably, and his 2010 free agency stock has plummeted. In short, the same thing happened to Terrell Owens that happens to every receiver in Buffalo these days (Is anyone still waiting on Lee Evans to finally produce those big fantasy numbers?). At 34, he wasn’t immune to the setbacks of terrible weather, an even worse quarterback and a dysfunctional front office.

This, on a vitriolic scale, is remarkably gratifying. As an Eagles fan for the past twelve seasons, watching Owens’ ungracious shuffle to football irrelevancy feels overdue and justified. But the notion that he doesn’t warrant an evaluation from other franchises because he looked passed his prime in BUFFALO is patently absurd. For starters, the market dictates value. You’re not going to have to commit to $30 million guaranteed or anything, a one year contract for a couple million should more than suffice. In other words, the salary hit is going to cripple your roster like it may have as recently as 2007 or 2008.

Since every team’s situation is different and considering he’s coming with a cheap price tag, if I’m running a team on the cusp of having a top ten offense and Owens still has the potential to get my team over the hump, I give him a second look. A good credo to operate under when it comes to receivers is they can take your offense from good to great, but they can’t take it from bad to good. Their effect on football team is limited but under the right set of circumstances can be formidable. Owens may still have the capacity to do this and he may not, but the talented, aging, temperamental and eccentric future hall of famer is, given the circumstances, more than worth the gamble if I’m one of the following five teams.

1)      New York Giants

Some, in fact most Giants fans, would argue that the Giants downslide in the second half of the 2009 season was more the result of injuries (particularly on defense) than a malfunctioning offense. And fair enough, they did manage to finish 11th in passing offense, and in that respect the absence of Burress might have been a tad overblown. But they finished only 17th in rushing (down from first in 2008), and part of this might be the result of lacking a deep threat receiver to keep opposing safeties offense. I wouldn’t think anything of it but this is one year after leading the NFL in rushing and the only significant change was losing Plaxico.

Owens gives them the deep/jump ball threat that Manning thrived with alongside Burress. I’m not implying the Owens is the ideal remedy, but for how affordable he now is, the risk doesn’t outweigh the potential reward.

2)      Tennessee Titans

With Vince Young now firmly in place as the Titans quarterback for the foreseeable future, it might be time to start supplying him with some weapons, and not the kind that can be used in strip club brawls. Not to say he doesn’t have any help, Chris Johnson is by all accounts the best running back in the NFL and Kenny Britt, at least by my estimation, will consistently be selected for pro-bowls. But for a QB whose weakness is accuracy, a target as large as Owens can prove beneficial for Vince Young. More explosiveness in the passing game to take some of the pressure of the running game will not only keep defenses guessing but could also prolong Chris Johnson’s career. Owens obviously isn’t a permanent solution (Britt is someone whom they should invest in for the long haul), but in the short-term, in a cohesive and structured environment that the Titans are synonymous with, he is an option that should be on their radar.

3)      Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville’s need is a tad different than the previous two examples. While they were surprisingly competitive last season, bringing in receivers hasn’t really improved their offense. Maybe they’re continually bringing in the wrong personnel, and maybe it’s the fault of Byron Leftwich/David Gerrard (note: this is probably it). But the revolving door of receivers to come through Jacksonville has been nothing short of simultaneously impressive and depressing. Torry Holt, Troy Williamson, Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, Earnest Wilford and Dennis Northcutt have all passed through Jacksonville only to prove ineffectual.

Mike Sims-Walker seems to be working out, but one season doesn’t make the reincarnation of Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. Why not bring in Owens to try and hold you over while you search for younger, franchise players? It might seem ridiculous to continue plugging away by rolling the dice on receivers with clouds of uncertainty following them around, but what other options do they have?

4)      Chicago Bears

Do I really even need to make an argument for why the Bears could stand to take a chance on Owens? Well, fine: Their leading receiver in 2009 totaled 57 catches and 3 touchdowns and is best known for an impressive rookie season of kick and punt returning. Their second and third options (Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox) are completely interchangeable with their fourth (Rashied Davis). One could make the argument they can’t afford the locker room disruption, but then you need an excuse for Jay Cutler. And why bring in a quarterback as a franchise savior and not supply him with any viable targets? Really, the Bears best receivers are their tight ends (where they run four deep). When that’s the case, you don’t really have an excuse to not bring in Terrell Owens for twenty cents on the dollar.

5)      Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Much like Chicago, Tampa’s best receiver is their tight end (Kellen Winslow), their offense was among the worst in the league last season and they were breaking in a new quarterback in 2009. It isn’t quite as egregious since Chicago sacrificed two first and one second round picks, but coming into the season I preferred Josh Freeman being picked at 17th over Matt Stafford or Marc Sanchez at 1^st and 5^th. Obviously the kid has talent, why not nurture it by giving him someone at least a little imposing at wideout? Right now he’s on an island with Michael Clayton and…wait for it…Reggie Brown as his two starting receivers. If you were ever a fan of the Eagles or happened to ever casually observe them, you know just how devastatingly bad Reggie Brown is/was, and you spent the last three seasons watching ever key acquisition at wide out almost immediately surpass him on the depth chart (Dante Stallworth, Kevin Curtis, DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, to be exact).

Quite frankly, the fact the Buccaneers went out of their way to replace Antonio Bryant with him is woefully inadequate management. Bring in Owens to at least create the illusion that Freeman has a traditional go-to receiver and maybe it won’t seem like they’re trotting out the Saints practice squad on every possession.

The bottom line is: if an NFL team has incentive to bring in a guy with Owens’ resume, they shouldn’t let a down-year with the Buffalo Bills be the determining factor. All things considered his numbers weren’t terrible and he was still the team’s leading receiver. While that might say more about Lee Evans than Terrell Owens, it seems unlikely to expect much more from him. Not to mention that Owens mostly avoided the media insanity he usually incites. For all of the team’s listed above, the low-cost risk alone should merit at least a workout. Because whether he still has anything in the tank or doesn’t, he’s a recognizable name for the right reasons as much as he is for the wrong ones.