2024-2025 NFL – RECEPTIONS Leaderboards

For Terique Owens, it can’t be easy being the son of legendary wide receiver Terrell Owens, at least from a football standpoint, as his famous father recorded 1,078 receptions for 15,934 yards with 153 receiving touchdowns over the course of his 15-year career, ranking eighth, third, and third, respectively, among every pass-catcher in NFL history.

That’s quite the tough act to follow. But to his credit, the younger Owens hasn’t given up on his own NFL dreams and is back at San Francisco 49ers training camp for the second straight season following a solid showing at rookie minicamp back in May.

After a lengthy collegiate career that spanned six seasons (2018-2023) and included stops at three different schools (Contra Costa Community College, Florida Atlantic, Missouri State), Owens was signed by the Niners as an undrafted free agent in the aftermath of the 2024 NFL Draft.

During training camp, however, he suffered a fracture to his right hand and was later released with an injury settlement. He returned to the team in early October as part of the practice squad but never took a regular-season snap.

Once the Niners’ disappointing 6-11 campaign came to a close in early January, Owens was signed to a reserve/future contract, and here we are.

Now, the chances of the 25-year-old making the main roster are firmly planted somewhere in the vicinity between slim and none. But given what’s going on with the Niners’ wide receiver corps at the moment, Owens may have a small window to impress Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the coaching staff.

Brandon Aiyuk is still in recovery from a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee, so he’s not taking reps in training camp. Second-year stud Ricky Pearsall also began camp on the PUP list with a hamstring injury. That’s not a long-term situation, but he’ll be out for at least a few days.

And on Wednesday, before the 49ers’ first official practice even got underway, 2024 fourth-round pick Jacob Cowing, who’s expected to take on a bigger role in the offense, suffered a hamstring injury of his own. The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but this setback could end up getting Owens a few more reps.

That said, though, he still faces plenty of competition for a reserve role behind Aiyuk, Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings, who did report to camp despite the recent reports surrounding his desire for a new contract.

Already tasked with attempting to beat out the likes of Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Watkins, Russell Gage, Junior Bergen, Isaiah Neyor, and Isaiah Hodgins, Owens must also now share snaps with Equanimeous St. Brown, who was signed shortly after an official tryout on Monday.

It’s an uphill battle for Owens, but he’ll undoubtedly give it everything he’s got.