By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
August 10, 2005
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) -- All-Pro wide receiver Terrell Owens left Eagles training camp Wednesday after a heated exchange with coach Andy Reid.
Reid asked the injured Owens to leave after their discussion, according to Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge. She said Owens was asked to return next Wednesday and had gone to his home in New Jersey.
``T.O. was asked to leave by Andy Reid,'' Etheredge said. ``I don't think that it was heated, it was a difference of opinion. I don't know if there was an argument.
Comcast SportsNet originally reported the disagreement occurred during a team meeting. Owens then got his belongings and cleared out of training camp at Lehigh University.
An Eagles spokesman did not comment on the report. Drew Rosenhaus, Owens' agent, did not immediately return several messages left on his cell phone.
Owens has been unhappy for months with his contract, hiring Rosenhaus and threatening to skip camp completely. Instead, Owens reported, then injured his groin last Thursday.
He was day to day and the injury wasn't considered serious, but he missed practice Wednesday for the fifth time in six days.
Owens worked out with the team's assistant trainer for about 20 minutes on a separate playing field from his teammates, catching balls from a machine and doing some light running. He did not speak to reporters or acknowledge the fans who chanted his name.
The Eagles had a special teams practice Wednesday afternoon and Owens was not required to attend.
Owens is unhappy the Eagles have refused to redo his contract as he enters the second season of a seven-year, $48.97 million deal.
Last season, Owens had 77 receptions for 1,200 yards and a franchise-record 14 touchdowns before severely injuring his ankle late in the season. He missed the final two regular-season games and the first two playoff games before returning for the Super Bowl, in which he had nine receptions for 122 yards.
While Owens has been an off-field distraction, the Eagles sorely need his production. Todd Pinkston is on injured reserve and out for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon, and the rest of the wide receivers -- Greg Lewis, Billy McMullen, and Reggie Brown -- are young and inexperienced.
