Bills sign Owens to one-year deal

Terrell Owens didn’t need every team to fall in love with him.

He just needed one.

And that team is the Buffalo Bills, who Saturday signed the six-time Pro Bowl receiver to a one-year, $6.5-million contract.

The Bills are the fourth team for the 35-year-old Owens, released by Dallas last week. Before playing for the Cowboys, Owens was a talented but troubled star in San Francisco then Philadelphia.

“I must move on, and it’s another beginning for me,” said Owens, 35, coming off his ninth 1,000-yard receiving season in 11 years. “If I can be that extra added piece to get them to the playoffs, then that’s what I’m here for. I looked at the defensive side of ball and offensive side of the ball, and these guys have all the pieces.”

Owens has 951 receptions for 14,122 yards and 139 touchdowns. He caught 69 passes for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

He was also at the center of a Cowboys controversy last season when reports surfaced that he was unhappy with Tony Romo and accused the quarterback of working with tight end Jason Witten to devise secret plays that froze him out of the offense. Owens denied those reports were true.

At a hastily arranged news conference Saturday night in which the Bills announced his signing, Owens declined to discuss his perceived selfishness in Dallas.

“That’s all hearsay,” he said. “If you look at all the comments coming from my teammates with the Cowboys the last three years, it’s all been positive. Prior to that, I really don’t want to get into it.”

Now, Owens and Lee Evans will form one of the NFL’s better playmaking receiving tandems. The Bills were 25th in yards gained last season, and failed to notch a 300-yard passing game.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com