Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens had a contentious relationship on the field and in the locker room, but it was a productive one. Owens, a recent inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, caught more touchdowns from Garcia than any other quarterback he played for. But their relationship was a constant source of gossip, with many believing that Owens tried to get Garcia benched in favor of Tim Rattay.
So it’s somewhat surprising that Garcia was one of the most supportive people in Owens’ bid for a spot in the Hall of Fame. Multiple former teammates of Owens submitted letters on his behalf prior to the final voting, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. It was an 11-page document, and among the pleas for Owens’ inclusion was something pretty significant from Garcia.
You can see a bit from Garcia’s plea below:
He wore his emotions on his sleeve and sometimes that was taken in a negative way, but there’s no taking away from the fact that he wanted to win badly and is near the top of every important receiving category in the history of the NFL. No matter who his QB was or what team he played for, his production was consistent and raised the standard of the position from a performance aspect.
On top of all of that, Garcia said, firmly, that Owens “deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” and that he was “one of the most feared players at his position. I’m not going to include the rest of the statement here, as you should click on over to Maiocco’s article to read it. Maiocco, who is on the voting committee, was given permission by Garcia to share a portion of the statement.
Late in their time together as teammates, Owens and Garcia seemed remarkably unfriendly. There were no huge celebrations when they hooked up for touchdowns. Owens never comforted Garcia when he threw an interception. They sat away from each other.
Despite all of that, they were incredibly productive, and it’s great to see Garcia coming out in support of Owens, a player who absolutely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He should have made it two years ago