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49ers GM John Lynch on Terrell Owens: “I didn’t always like him but I respected him”
Sep 20, 2019 at 7:10 AM
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It took years for the relationship between Terrell Owens and the San Francisco 49ers to mend. The Hall of Fame receiver seemingly burned a lot of bridges on his way out of the Bay Area.
That relationship is better now, which is evident by this weekend's upcoming festivities at Levi's Stadium. Owens will be honored at halftime as he becomes the 28th inductee into the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame. He'll be around the team during the days leading up to Sunday's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will even be on hand for Friday's practice.
These days, Owens has the respect of many within the organization. While that now includes 49ers general manager John Lynch, that wasn't always the case.
Lynch
joined KNBR on Thursday and shared why, during their playing days, the NFL safety turned television analyst turned general manager really wanted to fight the former NFL receiver.
"I remember one year in 2003, we (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) came out here and we had just won the Super Bowl the year before," Lynch shared on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "We got absolutely obliterated by the Niners.
"Early in that game, he catches a little shallow cross. I come up and tackle him, and I get up to one of the worst things that's ever happened to me on the football field. T.O. had that big elbow in my Adam's apple and darn near crushed the thing."
Obviously, Lynch didn't appreciate that, and the situation left the Buccaneers safety seeking revenge.
"The rest of the game, I tried to kill T.O.," Lynch continued. "I mean, I literally lost my mind because I felt like a guy tried to end my life on the football field."
The two would confront each other again at the hotel pool during the week leading to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Lynch's wife had to hold him back from initiating a fight.
That's when Owens explained the reasoning behind his actions. It all stemmed back to the 2002 season when the 49ers traveled to Tampa for an NFC Divisional Playoff game.
Lynch said Owens told him, "You did something to my boy [running back Garrison] Hearst!"
Lynch responded, "Well, why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't you say something, man, instead of trying to kill me?"
The two went on to put aside their conflict, had a few good laughs, and have been friends since.
"Man, what a player," Lynch added. "I didn't always like him, but I certainly always respected him. What a career that he had."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
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