:Chad Owens

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1982)}}

{{Infobox Canadian Football League biography

|name=Chad Owens

|image=2023, Alum02, Chad Owens (2).jpg

|caption=Owens in 2023

|team=

|position1=Wide receiver

|position2=Kick returner

|birth_date={{birth date and age|1982|4|3}}

|birth_place=Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

|death_date=

|death_place=

|height_ft=5

|height_in=8

|weight_lb=180

|college=Hawaii

|NFLDraftedYear=2005

|NFLDraftedRound=6

|NFLDraftedPick=185

|NFLDraftedTeam=Jacksonville Jaguars

|playing_years1={{NFL Year|2005|2006}}

|playing_team1=Jacksonville Jaguars

|playing_years2={{NFL Year|2007}}

|playing_team2=Tampa Bay Buccaneers*

|playing_years3={{NFL Year|2007}}

|playing_team3=Jacksonville Jaguars

|playing_years4={{AFL Year|2008}}

|playing_team4=Colorado Crush

|playing_years5={{CFL Year|2009}}

|playing_team5=Montreal Alouettes

|playing_years6={{CFL Year|2010|2015}}

|playing_team6=Toronto Argonauts

|playing_years7={{CFL Year|2016}}

|playing_team7=Hamilton Tiger-Cats

|playing_years8={{CFL Year|2017}}

|playing_team8=Saskatchewan Roughriders

|playing_years9={{CFL Year|2018}}

|playing_team9=Hamilton Tiger-Cats*

|career_footnotes=*Offseason and/or practice squad member only

|status=

|import=yes

|career_highlights=

2× Grey Cup champion (2009, 2012)
CFL record for most all-purpose yards in a regular season: 3,863 (2012)
CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award (2012)
Terry Evanshen Trophy (2012)
John Agro Special Teams Award (2010)
AFL All-Rookie Team (2008)
Second-team All-American (2004)
Mosi Tatupu Award (2004)

|CFLAllStar={{CFL Year|2010|2012}}, {{CFL Year|2014}}

|CFLEastAllStar={{CFL Year|2010|2014}}

|NFL=http://www.nfl.com/player/chadowens/2506520/careerstats

|CFL=https://www.cfl.ca/players/chad-owens/115154/

|statlabel1=Games played

|statvalue1=105

|statlabel2=Receptions

|statvalue2=521

|statlabel3=Receiving yards

|statvalue3=6,217

|statlabel4=Return yards

|statvalue4=10,309

|statlabel5=Total touchdowns

|statvalue5=35

|CFHOF=chad-owens

|CFHOFYear=2024

}}

Chad Owens Sr. (born April 3, 1982) is an American former professional football wide receiver and kick returner who played for three years in the National Football League (NFL) and nine years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2005 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2005/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Owens played college football at Hawaii. He spent six seasons playing for the Toronto Argonauts, and has also been a member of the Montreal Alouettes, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Owen's is also a professional bodybuilder who competes in the IFBB Men's Physique Division.

Early life

Owens attended Roosevelt High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and he was a three-sport letter-winner and star in football, basketball, and Track. In football, as a senior, he was an all—OIA white division selection, and an All-State honourable mention. As a sophomore, he garnered first-team All-OIA Red Division honours, and All-State honourable-mention accolades. He was also a basketball star and as a senior, he led his team to the OIA state basketball championship. He has three children: Chad Jr., Areana, and Sierra-Lynn with his wife, Rena Owens. They've been together for 25 years, married for 15 years.{{cite web|url=http://sports.sympatico.ca/news/owens_sets_pro_football_all-purpose_yards_mark/511d8d64|title=Owens sets pro football all-purpose yards mark|last=Davidson|first=Neil|work=Sympatico.ca|date=November 2, 2012|access-date=November 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128230007/http://sports.sympatico.ca/news/owens_sets_pro_football_all-purpose_yards_mark/511d8d64|archive-date=November 28, 2012|url-status=dead}}

College career

Owens became a bigger star after joining the University of Hawaii football team as a wide receiver, punt returner and kick returner. He became the featured receiver in June Jones's Run & Shoot Offence, and became the number one receiver for quarterback Timmy Chang. Owens was instrumental on the Warriors teams that won both the Hawaii Bowl in 2003 and 2004 by beating the University of Houston and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Hawaii's All-time Career Yardage Leader With 5,461 All-purpose Yards
Gained 3,031 receiving yards (6th in school history) and 29 touchdowns (5th) in 44 games,
Awarded the Mosi Tatupu Award for best Special Teams Player in 2004

=College statistics=

Year	Team	Receptions	Receiving yards	Yards per reception	Receiving touchdowns
class="wikitable"
2001	Hawaii Warriors	5	57	11.4	1
2002	Hawaii Warriors	47	550	11.7	2
2003	Hawaii Warriors	85	1,134	13.3	9
2004	Hawaii Warriors	102	1,290	12.6	17
TOTAL		239	3,031	12.7	29

Professional career

=Jacksonville Jaguars=

Owens was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars after his NFL debut against the Indianapolis Colts where he muffed three punts. He was re-signed to the Jaguars' practice squad a few days later.

Playing with the Jaguars in his first pre-season game of the 2006 season, Owens caught a 62-yard pass and scored his first NFL touchdown.

=Colorado Crush=

Owens signed with agent Richard "Bruno" Burnoski and signed a contract with the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League. Owens got off to a fast start with the Crush, generating over 1600 combined yards (receiving and returns) but tore his ACL, ending his season after nine games.{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/extra/afl/news/story?id=3488351|title=Horton: Top 10 rookies of 2008|date=July 15, 2008|website=ESPN.com|access-date=May 13, 2017}}

=Montreal Alouettes=

On July 14, 2009, Owens signed a practice roster agreement with the Montreal Alouettes. He was released on October 1. He was re-signed to the practice roster on October 8 and was considered a part of the 97th Grey Cup Championship team for participating in a game during the regular season.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPRe6Mjhrq0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/pPRe6Mjhrq0 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=1 on 1 with Chad Owens|website=YouTube |date=February 13, 2016 }}{{cbignore}}

=Toronto Argonauts=

Image:ChadOwensArgos.jpg

On June 24, 2010, the Toronto Argonauts acquired Owens from the Alouettes in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2011 CFL Draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2010/06/24/argos-make-a-deal-with-the-alouettes/|title=Argos make a deal with the Alouettes|date=June 24, 2010|website=CFL.ca|access-date=May 13, 2017}}

On November 25, 2010, Owens was named the most outstanding special teams player in the Canadian Football League for the 2010 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2005/11/25/video__cfl_state_of_the_league/|title=Video: CFL State of the League|date=November 25, 2005|website=CFL.ca|access-date=May 13, 2017}} Owens was a unanimous selection after leading the CFL in punt, kickoff, missed field goal returns and all-purpose yards and finishing tied for the league lead in return touchdowns (four). He became just the fifth player in league history to have over 1,000 punt and kick return yards in a season.

On November 1, 2012, in the final regular-season game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Owens set the all-time record for all-purpose yards in a single season, surpassing Pinball Clemons' 1997 total of 3,840 yards. Owens did so with a 29-yard kickoff return halfway through the 2nd quarter. He finished the season with 3863 all-purpose yards, setting not only a CFL record, but also a professional football record as well. In his third full season in Toronto, Owens became the first player in professional football to record at least 3,000 combined yards in back-to-back seasons.

On November 22, 2012, Owens won the CFL Most Outstanding Player Award finishing ahead of Calgary Stampeders running back Jon Cornish in voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada as well as the eight CFL head coaches. On November 25, 2012, Owens and the Argonauts finished the 2012 season with the 100th Grey Cup Championship. Owens was rated the best player in the league on the TSN Top 50 players of 2012.

On June 8, 2013, the Argos and Owens agreed to a two-year contract extension. The deal was rumoured to make Owens the highest-paid non-quarterback in the CFL.{{cite web|date=June 25, 2013|title=Argonauts sign Owens to two-year contract extension|url=https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=426273|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801051141/https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=426273|archive-date=August 1, 2013|access-date=May 13, 2017|website=TSN}} The Argonauts did not re-sign Owens at the conclusion of the 2015 CFL season, rendering Owens a free agent.

=Hamilton Tiger-Cats (first stint)=

On February 11, 2016, Owens agreed to a one-year contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a free agent.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/2010/former-cfl-mop-chad-owens-signs-with-tiger-cats/|title=Former CFL MOP Chad Owens signs with Tiger-Cats}} Subsequently, it was announced on October 4, after playing 12 games with the Tiger-Cats, that Owens would miss the remainder of the 2016 CFL season due to a broken foot he sustained in a game against the Montreal Alouettes.{{cite web|date=October 4, 2016|url=http://3downnation.com/2016/10/04/ticats-chad-owens-miss-rest-season-due-injury/|title=Ticats Chad Owens to miss the rest of season due to injury}} He would subsequently re-enter Free Agency after only a season with the organization.

=Saskatchewan Roughriders=

On February 15, 2017, Owens agreed to a two-year deal with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2017/02/15/aloha-riderville-chad-owens-signs-saskatchewan/|title=Aloha Riderville!: Chad Owens signs with Saskatchewan|date=February 15, 2017|website=CFL.ca|access-date=February 16, 2017}} It was announced, on June 21, 2017, that Owens was placed on the six-game injured list due to an apparent foot injury he likely sustained while with the Tiger-Cats.{{cite web|url=https://www.tsn.ca/riders-wr-owens-on-six-game-injured-list-1.785112|title=Riders WR Owens on six-game injured list - TSN|date=June 21, 2017 }}

Owens made his Roughriders debut on October 20, 2017, in a winning effort against the Calgary Stampeders recording five receptions with seventy eight yards.{{cite web|url=https://leaderpost.com/sports/football/cfl/saskatchewan-roughriders/revitalized-owens-shines-in-riders-debut|title=Revitalized Owens Shines in Riders debut}} Despite his strong performance at the end of the 2017 Saskatchewan Roughriders campaign, he was part of final roster cuts for the Riders on June 9, 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2018/06/09/report-riders-release-bagg-grant-owens/|title=Veterans Bagg, Owens, Grant and Bond among Riders cuts - CFL.ca|date=June 9, 2018|work=CFL.ca|access-date=June 11, 2018|language=en-US}} His age and performance relative to younger players are believed to be contributing factors affecting the decision to cut ties with the player.

= Hamilton Tiger-Cats (second stint) =

Owens returned to the Tiger-Cats when he signed a practice roster deal on September 11, 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2018/09/11/ticats-add-chad-owens-practice-roster/|title=Tiger-Cats sign Chad Owens to practice roster - CFL.ca|date=September 11, 2018|work=CFL.ca|access-date=September 11, 2018|language=en-US}} He was released on October 1, 2018, without having played in a game.{{Cite news|url=http://ticats.ca/tiger-cats-transactions-40/|title=Tiger-Cats transactions|date=October 1, 2018|work=ticats.ca|access-date=October 1, 2018|language=en-US}}

Owens was announced as a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame 2024 class on May 3, 2024 and inducted on September 14, 2024 at Tim Hortons Field. {{cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/2024/05/03/green-owens-dressler-highlight-2024-cfhof-class-of-2024/ |title=Green, Owens, Dressler highlight 2024 CFHOF class of 2024 |publisher=Canadian Football League |date=May 3, 2024}}

Professional career statistics

=NFL=

rowspan="2"\| Year ! rowspan="2"\| Team ! rowspan="2"\| G ! colspan="7"\| Receiving ! colspan="5"\| Rushing ! colspan="2"\| Fumbles
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	YAC	1stD	TD	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Fum	Lost
2005	JAX \| 1 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0.0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0.0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 1 \|\| 1
2006	JAX \| 4 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0.0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0.0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0
2007	JAX \| 1 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0.0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0.0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 2 \|\| 0

=AFL=

Year	Team	Receptions	Receiving yards	Yards per reception	Receiving touchdowns
class="wikitable"
2008	Colorado Crush	61	640	10.5	10

=CFL=

BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="0" width="65%" style="text-align:center"
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" \| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="6" \| Receiving ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Rushing
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Year ! Team ! {{Tooltip\|GP\|Games played}} ! {{Tooltip\|Rec\|Receptions}} ! {{Tooltip\|Yards\|Receiving yards}} ! {{Tooltip\|Avg\|Receiving average}} ! {{Tooltip\|Long\|Longest reception}} ! {{Tooltip\|TD\|Receiving touchdowns}} ! {{Tooltip\|Car\|Carries}} ! {{Tooltip\|Yards\|Rushing yards}} ! {{Tooltip\|Avg\|Rushing average}} ! {{Tooltip\|Long\|Longest rush}} ! {{Tooltip\|TD\|Rushing touchdowns}}
ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2009	MTL	1	1	10	10.0	10	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
ALIGN= "center" \| 2010	TOR	17	46	576	12.5	63	3	1	11	11.0	11	0
ALIGN= "center" bgcolor= "#f0f0f0" \| 2011	TOR	17	70	722	10.3	48	0	3	14	4.7	8	0
ALIGN= "center" \| 2012	TOR	18	94	1,328	14.1	60	6	6	25	4.2	8	0
ALIGN= "center" bgcolor= "#f0f0f0" \| 2013	TOR	13	94	979	10.4	37	2	9	51	5.7	18	0
ALIGN= "center" \| 2014	TOR	11	86	989	11.5	69	7	3	28	9.3	16	0
ALIGN= "center" bgcolor= "#f0f0f0" \| 2015	TOR	13	55	570	10.4	42	3	2	8	4.0	5	0
ALIGN= "center" \| 2016	HAM	12	58	808	13.9	51	5	1	3	3.0	3	0
ALIGN= "center" bgcolor= "#f0f0f0" \| 2017	SSK	3	17	235	13.8	27	1	4	32	8.0	10	0
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="2" \| CFL totals !105	521	6,217	11.6	69	27	29	172	5.9	18	0

MMA career

In the off-season following the 2012 CFL season, Owens decided to pursue MMA as a form of off-season training. Then Argos GM Jim Barker openly expressed his displeasure with Owens's fighting in MMA, and was quoted as saying, "I think he's making a bad decision, our organization thinks he's making a bad decision". On April 6, 2013, Owens defeated Junya Tevaga by unanimous decision in an amateur bout. The organization that oversaw the fight was Destiny MMA.{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2013/04/04/owens-comes-out-victorious-unscathed-in-mma-debut/|title=Owens comes out victorious, unscathed in MMA debut|date=April 4, 2013|website=CFL.ca|access-date=May 13, 2017}}

Personal life

In January 2015, Owens moved from Hawaii to Canada full-time; but has now relocated back to his home of Oahu (Honolulu),Hawai'i {{cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/argonauts-star-chad-owens-family-make-full-time-move-to-canada-1.2179970|title=Argonauts star Chad Owens, family make full-time move to Canada|first=Dan|last=Ralph|date=January 8, 2015|website=CTVNews.ca|access-date=May 13, 2017}} Owens also competes in Bodybuilding and was the 2022 Men's Physique Overall Champion at the Shawn Ray Hawaiian Classic. In 2024 Owen's won his IFBB Pro Card at NPC North Americans in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20130115025018/http://argonauts.ca/roster/show/id/3753 Toronto Argonauts profile page]
[http://www.nfl.com/player/chadowens/2506520/profile NFL profile]
[http://www.arenafan.com/players/?page=players&player=10852&pageview=news ArenaFan.com profile]
[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/O/OwenCh00.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com profile]