Terrell Owens watched the San Francisco 49ers’ final game of the 2003 season from the sideline, his left arm in a harness to protect a broken collarbone.

Or shall we say, he watched most of it.

The 49ers trailed the Seattle Seahawks 21-17 as the clocked ticked under three minutes to play. The San Francisco defense was trying to make a last-ditch stand so the offense could mount one final comeback effort.

Owens didn’t wait around to see how it turned out. He walked down the sideline, through the far end zone, down the dugout steps and into unrestricted free agency.

Or so he thought. Thursday it was announced that Owens missed a deadline for filing paperwork that would have voided the final three years of his contract with the 49ers. That means Owens is stuck with the 49ers for as long as they choose to be stuck with him. And that’s nothing compared to what it could mean for San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia.

Suffice to say the 49ers’ offseason has taken an odd turn. General manager Terry Donahue had some important decisions to make after that final game (a 24-17 loss to Seattle, as it turned out). The first was no decision at all. Owens had the option to void his contract, and his words and actions last season left no doubt which way he was leaning. He was gone. So the 49ers never even made him an offer to stay.

Next up was linebacker Julian Peterson, the team’s best defensive player. He could have been an unrestricted free agent. Donahue headed him off at the exit by designating him the 49ers’ franchise player.

Running back was an issue. The 49ers signed backup Kevan Barlow to a five-year extension and cut starter Garrison Hearst.

Then there was Garcia. His season went sideways before the first game. He injured his back during offseason workouts, was nagged by other various injuries during the season, suffered Owens’ thinly veiled barbs and snide asides, sat (and bristled) for three weeks while backup Tim Rattay won twice and lost once while enduring the obligatory starter vs. backup debate that ensued.

It didn’t end there. Last month Garcia was arrested in San Jose for suspicion of drunk driving. For this, and for his perceived shortcomings as a quarterback, Garcia was further lambasted by Owens on Owens’ personal web site.

As a bonus, Garcia’s contract, signed before the 2001 season, is up for a planned restructuring. Team president John McVay has said flat-out that Garcia will not be back for the $10 million he is scheduled to make. Donahue has intimated Garcia could be waived if he doesn’t agree to a significant downsizing of his salary.

Now this. Suddenly, given Owens’ procedural boner, the 49ers have the wherewithal to ditch Garcia while remaining offensively competitive. At the very least they’ve got more options than they did a few days ago.

They could keep Owens and get rid of Garcia. Rattay’s three starts last season were the only starts of his NFL career. But Owens could help ease the transition from Garcia to Rattay, even given his statistical downturn and nagging injuries in 2003.

Or, they could keep Garcia and trade Owens for offensive help that requires far less emotional maintenance. Several teams are interested, including the Eagles, Ravens and Dolphins.

If you’re thinking they can keep both, forget it. Owens and Garcia don’t mix. The 49ers are more likely to get rid of both.

One person’s best guess: Don’t be surprised if Garcia winds up paying for Owens’ stupidity.

Either way the 49ers choose to go, they can use Owens’ unexpected availability to help drive down the price on Garcia’s renegotiation. The irony there is that Garcia is five times the team player Owens is. Owens just happens to be a more valuable receiver than Garcia is a quarterback.

The other irony is that Garcia has paid for Owens’ stupidity more than a few times. After each of the 49ers’ first three games last season, Owens issued oft-scathing critiques of the team’s play. On one occasion he complimented the play of Rattay, who had replaced an ineffective Garcia.

Owens would talk the trash, and Garcia would be left to clean up the mess in good soldier fashion. Garcia even tried to downplay Owens’ early exit from the team’s final game.

‘’He wants the best opportunity to win,’’ Garcia said after that game, when asked if he thought Owens would be back. ‘’He wants a situation that will utilize his skills. Not to say we didn’t try to do that. You could see the frustration.’’

Now, because of Owens’ inability to get his act together, Garcia is the one who’ll feel the frustration. Funny how things work out.

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