No Owens at Bills Workouts

ORCHARD PARK, NY (WIVB) - Terrell Owens was not there, as the Bills began voluntary offseason workouts.  Its not a suprise that Owens is missing. He rarely attended these workouts at his previous stops in San Francisco, Philadelpha and Dallas.  Because he has a reputation for keeping himself in such good shape, he seems to be getting the benefit of the doubt from the Bills.

Strength and conditioning coach John Allaire was asked if he was worried about Owens' absence.

"No, we’re not. He has a very good history of being in shape and ready to go, so we’re not anticipating anything different this year," said Allaire.

Owens was not the only one missing from the first day.  Lee Evans, Aaron Schobel, Marcus Stroud and Donte Whitner was among the player not spotted by the media who were allowed into the fieldhouse.

Unofficially, there were around 30 players seen in the weight room, including Josh Reed, Trent Edwards, George Wilson, Langston Walker, Paul Posluszny, Kawika Mitchell and Terrence McGee.

Owens may make a brief appearance to visit with his new teammates.  He may show up for at Organized Team Activities in late May, or at least the mandatory minicamp in June. 

Other notes from the first day of workouts:
*James Hardy says he should be ready midway through training camp, as he rehabs his injured knee.  Hardy hopes to play in the final preseason game. 

*Walker says he was surprised by the release of Derrick Dockery, but understands that the NFL is a business.

*New backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is here, and ready to begin establishing a relationship with Edwards. 

*Edwards says he and the offensive coaches continue to tweak the design of the offense to include Owens.  Trent believes the presence of Owens and Lee Evans will open things up for inside receivers Reed and Roscoe Parrish.