The Toronto Argonauts are signing receiver and return specialist Chad Owens to a one-day contract in order to allow him to officially retire as a member of the team.
The 41-year-old played 89 games over six seasons with the Boatmen from 2010 to 2015, recording 445 receptions for 5,164 yards and 21 touchdowns, 360 punt returns for 4,007 yards and five touchdowns, and 237 kickoff returns for 5,376 yards and one touchdown.
The native of Honolulu, Ha. won a Grey Cup with the team in 2012 and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player that same season after setting a new league record with 3,863 all-purpose yards. He was also named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2010, a four-time CFL all-star, and a five-time East Division all-star.
The former sixth-round NFL draft pick broke into the CFL as a member of the Montreal Alouettes in 2009 following a three-year run in the NFL spent primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was traded to Toronto on June 24, 2010 in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2011 CFL Draft.
Owens wasn’t re-signed by the Argos when he became a free agent in February 2016 and signed a one-year deal with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He caught 58 passes for 808 yards and five touchdowns that season before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a free agent in 2017. He caught 17 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown but missed most of the regular season due to injury.
The five-foot-eight, 180-pound speedster briefly joined Hamilton’s practice squad in the fall of 2018, though was released without dressing for a regular season game. He has since taken on work in the film industry, appearing in the Bruce Willis film Paradise City.
