CANTON, OHIO (AP) - Call them America’s Team’s expatriates.
Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson are among the former Dallas Cowboys who now reside in Cincinnati. The Bengals and Cowboys will meet Sunday night in the Hall of Fame game, and while T.O. and the other veterans might not spend much time on the field, they will draw plenty of attention when they are in the lineup.
Owens, of course, always gets the spotlight, whether he’s with the 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills or, now, the Bengals.
“I’m a playmaker,” Owens said. “I know Michael Irvin has adopted that title, but that’s what I do and have done throughout my career is make plays. The coaches know what I’m capable of once the ball is in my hands. They’re going to get all of Terrell on the field.
“I’m glad to be with my new team and we’ll see where it takes us.”
For now, it’s taken them to Canton’s Fawcett Field, where Owens will get some time with the regulars early in the first preseason game. He’s never caught passes from Carson Palmer against an opposing defense, and while it’s too soon to expect that connection to click precisely, it’s never to soon to begin the process.
“I think the opportunity to play against other people is always good,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “I don’t know if it’ll affect Terrell and Carson as much since Terrell’s learning on the move. He’s a veteran player. There are things he has done that maybe we coach a little differently. The terminology may be different in some instances, but he’s basically carrying what he already knows.”
What Owens also knows is that he belongs in the Hall of Fame, saying earlier this week all he lacks is the bust.
Pacman Jones hardly is in that class.
The defensive back was out of the NFL last season, none of the 32 teams willing to sign him after his repeated off-field problems, including a run-in with a bodyguard that cost him his job in Dallas. The Bengals, known for giving second chances, twice worked out Jones before signing him in May.
Sunday night, he returns to the NFL on national television _ against the Cowboys.
“Whoever it was it would have been special,” Jones said. “I haven’t played a real game in a whole season.
“I have a lot of friends on the Cowboys. I talk to those guys all the time. It was no love lost when I left there. People have to make business decisions, and it is what it is. I’m happy to be a Bengal.”
Johnson merely is happy to be healthy after a right foot injury limited him last year. Johnson served an eight-game suspension in 2007 for off-field issues, but had no such problems with the Cowboys or last season with Cincinnati.
“Injuries or not, I’ve been able to play through stuff most of the time,” Johnson said. “Being able to feel good going into a game rather than having to get injections just to make yourself feel good is a plus.”
Starters rarely go more than two series in this game. Lewis and Cowboys coach Wade Phillips admitted that’s likely to be repeated Sunday night.
Still, when the former Cowboys, particularly Owens, are on the field, interest will be high.
“That’s the Cowboys North,” Dallas wide receiver Patrick Crayton said.
“It will be good to see him again,” he added about Owens. “Him and a couple of other guys that were here and stuff. It’s always good to see old friends and old teammates.
“Is there anything about facing (Owens)? I never even thought about facing him, because I don’t have to stick him.”
Tony Romo, who had his ups and downs throwing to T.O. over three seasons, won’t carry any bitterness toward the former Cowboys into the game.
“I know. Dallas No. 2,” he said with a chuckle about the Cincinnati roster that also includes safety Roy Williams and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who have strong ties to the Cowboys. “Those guys are all good guys and we enjoyed having every one of them. It allowed us to have great success when we were here, in a lot of ways. It’ll be good to see them and say hi and wish them good luck, hopefully not quite as good against us. I root for them.”
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AP Sports Writers Stephen Hawkins in Dallas and Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this story.
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