Chad Johnson follows Chris Henry out of Cincinnati
Chad Johnson is demanding a trade
again and no one is sure why. The Bengals were a Super Bowl competitive team
three years ago, there is not much competition at wide receiver since Chris
Henry got the boot and Carson Palmer is still one of the best quarterbacks in the
country.
Johnson wants out, will not attend
any team events and has been skipping all the voluntary programs in Cincinnati this spring. He
has been very productive in his seven years with the Bengals, gaining 1,440
yards last season with 8 touchdown celebrations. But #85 wants to hit the road
and disagrees with his quarterback that he will return. The Bengals don’t plan
to trade him, although before the draft is a perfect time to dump him for a
high round draft selection.
TJ Houshmandzadeh has become the
number one go to guy for Carson Palmer this past season, catching all the tough
stuff over the middle and making first downs. But after TJ and Chad they don’t
have too much after Chris Henry was kicked off the team for a fifth arrest in 3
years. I guess Antonio Chatman will be serviceable but they need another play
maker at the position.
This team was 11-5 in 2006 and
would have gone further that year except for a cheap shot from Pittsburgh to the knee of Palmer in the wild
card game. And Palmer has returned from the knee injury to continue to be one
of the top tear quarterbacks in the league. Last year he had a 87.2 QB rating
falling somewhere in the middle of the pack but threw for 4,131 yards to
be the fifth most productive quarterback in the league.
If Chad Johnson wants to leave,
there is no reason for him to do so, but it’s the best time with the NFL Draft
right around the corner.