Edwards reacts to T.O. signing

Bills QB Trent Edwards spoke to the media today at the Bills headquarters in Orchard Park. The following is a transcript from the news conference: On his reaction to the signing of WR Terrell Owens: I was very excited. I was very surprised that it happened, but obviously very excited. I was actually in a funeral back in Los Gatos (CA), my hometown, so I was kind of emotional coming out of that. I checked my cell phone and I heard it had happened, and I’m obviously very, very excited. On how the addition of Owens helps the offense: I think on the field, he’s going to create and need a lot of attention by the defense and that’s going to take a lot of pressure off of Lee (Evans), a lot of pressure off of our backs and tight ends. And I think he’s going to help a lot just in terms of raising our competitive level off of the field, too. He’s going to make guys work in the offseason, make guys work in the weight room, in the film room, and I’m anxious to get started. That’s why I’m here kind of early, I want to get going. All of the buzz and excitement around here is making me get back in football mode here. On if Owens’ past relationships with quarterbacks are cause for concern: You know what, the thing I like about him, and what I think that all stems from, is him wanting to win. If you keep that mind, and that’s something I’m going to keep in mind, that’s why I spoke with him on the phone briefly while he was here and told him that I don’t want to sit at home in January, I don’t want to sit at home in February, I want to play football. I want to be out there in the playoffs. I want to take this team to that level and I know he’s taken those teams that he’s played for in the past to that level, and I’m hoping that I can do the same. On his communication with Bills COO/GM Russ Brandon about Owens: We’re hearing multiple stories on this, but I was actually at the Stanford Business School this past week and was sitting in my hotel room. It was at the end of the seminar and I had seen on TV just like you guys had seen on TV, and we had a couple receivers come in that we were considering offering contracts and they went other places, and I had been in touch with Russ all offseason and we share a pretty close relationship when it comes to that. It was just kind of a question thrown out there, if we were considering him, if he had known anything about it, just sort of an inquiry to see where he was at. I just said, ‘what about T.O.?’ That was really about it. On if the thought of the Bills signing Owens crossed his mind right away: That’s the thing, too, is that I watched those guys, and I respect football players that have such a passionate desire to win football games. I was telling Chris (Jenkins) this earlier, my two favorite quarterbacks to play this game are Brett Favre and John Elway and both of those guys wanted to win more than anything else. I see a lot of that in Terrell and that’s what we need in this business, in this team, in this organization. On if he talked to Brandon after sending him a text message: I never spoke on the phone with him. I was just sending a couple text messages, and that’s kind of the beauty of the text-messaging world, is you can still get your point across and not have to sit on the phone for awhile. My point did get across and now we’re sitting here talking, On if he has talked to other people around the league about Owens: I have not spoken with anyone who has played with him. I’ve played against him, but I’ve only seen of that what I see on TV and what I saw when he was here two Monday nights ago. I don’t know if I really plan to do that, I don’t really know him all that well, I don’t really know the type of person he is, and that’s kind of what this offseason is going to entail is getting to know him, and getting to know all of the other receivers as well. I feel like we’re focusing a lot on him. We need to focus a lot on the other receivers, too. We’re bringing back a healthy James Hardy, we’re going to bring back Steve Johnson, we’re bringing back Lee, and Josh (Reed), and Roscoe (Parrish). I was sitting up there, meeting with Turk (Schonert), and going over personnel groupings and we were putting numbers on the board of a variety of our different players, our offensive weapons, and I was just getting excited just going through the plays and drawing them up and it’s going to be a battle now to get guys the ball. On if he wants to avoid contacting anyone about Owens because he wants to go in fresh, without preconceived notions: I’ve never had to do that with any other players that I’ve played with. I don’t take this situation any differently than if it would be someone else that we’re bringing in here. I’m going to call Geoff Hangartner after I get done here. I’ve been in touch with Ryan Fitzpatrick, but I’m not going to call Carson Palmer or Marc Bulger to see what they think of Ryan Fitzpatrick. I’m just going to take it at face value and build from here. On if he thinks Owens will help to get the ball in the end zone: It’s going to have to change, and like I said earlier, he demands a lot of attention and that’s going to take a lot of pressure off of Lee. We’re going to create a lot of mismatches and that’s a part of the reason why Russ and those guys upstairs are bringing guys in like him. On if he thinks Owens will need the ball a certain number of times per game: I think, ultimately, the stat that he wants you guys to write about in the paper the next day is winning the football game, and that outweighs everything else, I think. That’s my attitude on that, and I wish I had some sort of statement here to give you a better story, but that’s ultimately, everyone in this entire building right now wants to win football games. That’s the message we’re trying to get across here about bringing a guy in like Terrell. On if bringing in Owens has made him more anxious to get started this year: I’m sure you’re anxious, too, just hearing me talk about it. I’m getting anxious just talking about it, and I’m getting anxious just answering questions about it. And that’s the beauty of the sport, that’s the beauty of playing this position on Sundays in the NFL. We can bring in guys of his caliber, we can build off of what we did last season, and we’re going to play in the AFC East and it’s going to be a battle all year long. On if he is back in Buffalo earlier than he was planning: This is ahead of schedule. I’m taking this week to meet with a lot of the coaches and to try and get a head start on things. We’re tweaking some things in the offense and I kind of wanted to get a head start in terms of I didn’t want my first day to be the rest of the team’s first day.