Didn't see this one coming...

It was only a matter of time before Terrell Owens ran himself out of town, and last week he succeeded, for the third time in five seasons.

I was mildly surprised by the move. The Cowboys are Jerry Jones' team and he was the only employee in the organization that didn't want to cut T.O. Ultimately, though, Jerry let everyone else in the front office convince him that the team would be better off without the mercurial wide receiver.

But you know what I didn't see coming? The Buffalo Bills didn't waste much time in signing Owens to a 1-year $6.5 Million contract - all of it guaranteed.

Wait, what?

The Bills have gone 7-9 three seasons in a row now. They're close to getting over that hump, but just can't seem to do it. They certainly need to upgrade the talent on their roster, but WR isn't an immediate need. Lee Evans is a solid #1 receiver, with a heck-of-a-lot more of an upside than T.O. considering his age and (potentially) consistent QB play.

Terrell Owens is still a talented player, but he should be prepared to line up as the #2 behind Evans. Can Owens' ego take being the second Banana? He couldn't handle Romo's rapport with Witten in Dallas, something tells me he's going to have a similar reaction when Trent Edwards looks Evans' way with the game on the line.

What confuses me is why coaches, GMs and Owners still think that they can control T.O. The 49ers are off the hook, because they were Owens' first team. He hadn't esteblished any patterns of bad behavior until he palyed for them. The Eagles also aren't completely to blame. There are plenty of players that have a falling out with one franchise, but are completely reborn on team #2. But Dallas is another story. Jerry Jones knew what he was getting into and it blew up in his face. And Buffalo? Really?

Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo all had issues with Owens. Three solid, talented quarterbacks. Three Pro-Bowlers. Three Veteran leaders. Owens started a beef with each one of them (and over fabricated controversies to boot.) Andy Reid couldn't control Owens. Parcells delivered Jones a "it's him or me" ultimatum which led to his departure from Dallas. Trent Edwards is a talented player with potential, but he doesn't have the pedigree of the three players Owens has thrown under the bus. If Owens continues his nasty ways he might crush Edwards' budding confidence.

Is this move guaranteed to blow up in Buffalos face? Not necessarily. Owens managed to last an entire season in Philly before causing trouble. Ditto in Dallas. He might last through his contract without being a pain-in-the-ass, but I wouldn't count on it. Just wait until Owens calls Edwards out for tossing to a wide-open Evans in the 4th quarter against New England, even though Owens was double covered.