" Idzik’s rare Jets gift : Defiant WR who beat every red flag " ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

If Jets coach Todd Bowles needs an Exhibit A example of a player who has persevered to get where he is today, receiver Chris Owusu would be the perfect reference point.

Owusu is not supposed to be here. He’s not supposed to be playing for the Jets. He’s not even supposed to be playing in the NFL.The odds were stacked against Owusu before he got into the league, when all seven rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft passed without anyone calling his name despite the fact he had a productive career as a receiver and kick returner at Stanford. Those odds became even longer once he got into the league, with red flags over his issue with concussions scaring teams away.Yet somehow Owusu is here, on the Jets’ roster as their No. 3 receiver and ready to play Monday night against the Colts and their star quarterback Andrew Luck, his good friend who threw passes to him while the two played together at Stanford.

Owusu, acquired by former Jets general manager John Idzik (one of the few positive moves Idzik executed during his flawed two-year run), is on his fourth team in four years. He has 24 career receptions and four of them came in last week’s win over the Browns. Not bad for a guy who initially didn’t even make the Jets’ final 53-man roster.As recently as five weeks ago, Owusu was sidelined with a concussion when he took a hit to the head in practice. It was the fourth he has suffered, dating back to college.But when Owusu returned to the field, he made a strong last impression of summer when he caught five passes for 72 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown, in the preseason finale — a performance that appeared to have secured a place on the roster for him.

Yet when the final cuts arrived, Owusu was left off the roster. The Jets, who wanted to keep Owusu, gambled that no other team would sign him because of the concussion red flags and it worked, allowing them to bring him back.In the season opener, Owusu was one of their most productive receivers, setting up the Jets’ first touchdown of the season with a 43-yard reception in the first quarter, and finishing with four catches for 55 yards.During a quiet moment in the locker room this week, Owusu, looking back on being cut, said his first thought was: “You never know.’’

“A lot of scenarios crept into my head,’’ he said. “Ultimately, I prayed a lot with my family. That helped me to be calm no matter what storms came my way, no matter what was going on.’’After he was cut, Owusu got encouraging texts from Jets teammates, including quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and fellow receiver Eric Decker, which he said, “eased my heart.’’Owusu’s father, too, was a pillar of strength for him. Francis Owusu knows more about athletic disappointment than most. He made the Ghana Olympic team to run the 400 meters, but was unable to compete when Ghana boycotted the 1976 Games in Montreal over Olympic officials’ refusal to ban New Zealand. (There had been an uproar over the New Zealand rugby team’s tour of South Africa, which had been banned because of its apartheid policies).

“It was very disappointing after all the training and energy I put into it, but if it is good for mankind, then I am all for it,’’ Francis Owusu recalled. “I came to accept it.’’The father said when his son was cut by the Jets after all the hard work he put in, “it did remind me of myself.’’

“You just have to accept it and move forward with disappointment, which is what he did,’’ Francis Owusu said. “Hard work always pays off. When adversity strikes, you just have to take it and move forward.’’So that’s what his son did. And now, just a couple of weeks removed from being cut, Owusu has become a go-to target for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.“The first I’d ever heard of Chris was when I got traded here and they said, ‘Some guy named Chris Owusu has No. 14,’ ’’ Fitzpatrick said of his preferred jersey number. “So I texted Chris and he was nice enough to give me the number.’’

Owusu gave Fitzpatrick his number and now Fitzpatrick is calling Owusu.“He’s a guy I really look to, and after having a few catches last game, I think his confidence is just going to grow,’’ Fitzpatrick said.“I have a lot of respect for him,” Decker said. “His game and the path that got him to where he is now.“It’s been awesome to see a guy that keeps grinding and grinding and finally the light shines and he gets his fair chance.’’

>   http://nypost.com/2015/09/18/idziks-rare-jets-gift-defiant-wr-who-beat-every-red-flag/

[ljr]

Owusu would be a good story if he continues to do well & not get dinged again.

 

also nice to see Fitzpatrick & Decker being team leaders & communicating with him in his most difficult team moment

[Larz]

this is harsh, but I'm just hoping he to lasts long enough to hold the fort for devin smith

 

 

[bealeb319]

this is harsh, but I'm just hoping he to lasts long enough to hold the fort for devin smith

 

 

Good thing most teams carry more than 3 receivers. I could see Owusu being our #4 guy for awhile. Kerley probably wont be on the roster next year which kills me because im a huge Kerley supported but if the staff doesn't like him and doesn't play him then whats the point of keeping him and paying him.

[Larz]

Good thing most teams carry more than 3 receivers. I could see Owusu being our #4 guy for awhile. Kerley probably wont be on the roster next year which kills me because im a huge Kerley supported but if the staff doesn't like him and doesn't play him then whats the point of keeping him and paying him.

yeah, best case scenario they are all healthy, but owusu is a serious health risk

[jetfan61]

Im rooting for him but as far as Idzik goes...even a broken clock is right twice a day. 

[southparkcpa]

I would be a better GM than Idzik.

 

 

[AFJF]

I always believe in giving execs credit when they find that "diamond in the rough", but with Idzik, the two young players who may turn out to be his best in-season moves could be Marcus Williams and Owusu.  That being said, I'd fall back on something I hate to see others do but I gotta' call it luck.  These guys were brought in through attrition.  Both positions were a revolving door last year and it was just a matter of bringing in a new guy every ten seconds before finding one who could play.  If they had any clue Marcus Williams was as good as he is there would have been no reason not to trade a 7th for him.  As it turned out, he was let go and become another player to bring in for a look. That being said, I'm glad they're Jets.