Terrell Owens, like in most of his NFL stops, will decide what type of impact he will have on the young offense in Buffalo.

He comes into a locker room with a good, developing quarterback in Trent Edwards and an impressionable running back in Marshawn Lynch. Fellow wide receiver Lee Evans has carved out a niche in Buffalo as one of the game’s best deep threats, and youngster James Hardy could be the next Plaxico Burress — hopefully minus the drama, of course.

T.O. has the ability to bring a new dynamic to the Bills offense. An offense with two deep threats like Owens and Lee Evans coupled with the power running of Lynch could make defensive game planning very difficult for Buffalo’s opponents. The Bills are gambling that T.O. will come in and be a positive influence with his strong work ethic on a maturing team.

Of course Owens is going to increase the production of the Bills offense. Edwards immediately becomes a better fantasy quarterback, Lynch a better running back and Evans a better receiver just with Owens’ gigantic presence on the field. The defense will also be able to gamble more knowing Buffalo’s potentially high-powered offense can make up for many defensive mistakes.

But will Owens’ production on the field make up for the liability he becomes on the sideline and/or in the locker room? T.O. has almost single-handedly destroyed lock rooms in each of his NFL stops. In fact, I am sure Philly fans would say he did single-handedly destroy the Eagles’ locker room. The Bills stars are young and could easily be influenced by the divisiveness of Owens’ off-the-field antics.

Buffalo has not seen the hurricane that is T.O. first hand. The second the Bills start losing or are not throwing the ball in Owens’ direction enough, T.O. will transform into a burden as seen in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas. But as long as T.O. is near the top of the league in targets and the Bills are winning, he should be a great addition to the team.

If Buffalo starts to faulter, however, not only will he tear up the locker room, Owens likely will get the coaching staff and general manager fired for taking such a gamble in the first place. The Bills’ front office may wish they had never signed T.O. after the 2009 season ends.

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