The Toronto Argonauts announced on Wednesday that veteran wide receiver Chad Owens will sign a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Toronto Argonauts. Owens will attend the Argo’s 150th anniversary celebration this Friday against the Edmonton Elks at 7 pm on CBS Sports Network.
Chad Owens is five foot eight and weighs 180 pounds. The 41-year-old from Honolulu, Hawaii, was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round (185th pick) of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played six games in three seasons with Jacksonville mainly on special teams returning five kickoffs for 94 yards, and 13 punt returns for 62 yards.
After the NFL, Owens played for the Colorado Crush (AFL) in 2008 with 61 catches for 640 yards, and 10 touchdowns before a torn ACL ended his season. He was named to the AFL All-Rookie Team in 2008.
When the Arena Football League folded after the 2008 season, Owens made his way to the CFL signing with the Montreal Alouettes and was placed on the practice squad. He played one game for the Alouettes with one catch for 10 yards, two kick returns for 80 yards, and three punt returns for 10 yards.
In 2010, the Toronto Argonauts acquired Owens from the Alouettes for a fourth-round pick in 2011. Owens played six seasons in Toronto with 445 catches for 5,164 yards, 20 touchdowns, 24 carries for 137 yards, 360 punt returns for 4,007 yards, five touchdowns, 237 kick returns for 5,376 yards, and one touchdown in 89 games for the Argonauts.
After Toronto, Owens signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on February 11, 2016. Owens made 58 catches for 808 yards, five touchdowns, one carry for three yards, two punt returns for 10 yards, and one kickoff return for 23 yards in 12 games for the Ticats.
In 2017, Owens signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played three games with four carries for 32 yards, 17 catches for 235 yards, and one touchdown. He returned to Hamilton in 2018 but was released without playing a game.
In his nine-year CFL career, Owens was a two-time Grey Cup champion in 2009 and 2012, holds the CFL record for most all-purpose yards in a regular season (3,863) in 2012, CFL’s Most Outstanding Player Award in 2012, four-time CFL All-Star, five-time CFL East All-Star, and the John Agro Special Teams Award in 2010.
Collegiately, Owens played four seasons at Hawaii (2001-04) with 239 catches for 3,031 yards, 29 touchdowns, nine carries for 62 yards, one touchdown, 67 punt returns for 798 yards, five touchdowns, 45 kick returns for 1,329 yards, and two touchdowns in 44 games for the Rainbow Warriors. He helped the Rainbow Warriors win two Hawaii Bowls in 2003 and 2004.
