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Though we’ve long believed that Bengals receiver Chad Johnson will huff and puff about holding out but ultimately show up for training camp, there apparently is a good chance that he will dig in his heels.
Per a league source, Johnson is serious about staying away, despite the cost.
It won’t be cheap, if that’s what Johnson chooses to do. The daily fines for holdouts exceed $14,000 per day. Also, he would be required to pay back 25 percent of his signing bonus proration for 2008, if he misses even as little as one mandatory day.
But holding out and paying the money might actually be a better outcome for Johnson than showing up. Because we can’t imagine Johnson not acting out and ultimately getting suspended four games for conduct detrimental to the team, which would end up costing him a lot more.
If the Bengals persist in their refusal to trade Johnson, his only other option is to retire. Though doing so would avoid the fines, he also would have to pay back the full amount of all remaining signing bonus proration.
Then again, he can continue to huff and puff about holding out, and he might truly intend to do it right now, but when he’s staring down that daily price tag of 14 grand, he might feel very differently about it all.
April 24th, 2008 at 7:59 am
If the Bengals take a stand with this immature jag-off they may actually benefit in the long run. By sticking to their guns they will be sending a clear message to T. J. and others around the league(including future employees & their greedy agents)that a contract is more than the point where negotiations begin. They need to be firm and let this jag-off show his a** for all to see. In the long run they will be the winners.
After it is over and done with….send him to Al Davis’ successor….Jerrah Jones.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:02 am
The Bengals are an incredibly stupid and stubborn team. With Chad Johnson’s situation up in the air they can’t feasibly make any plans to have him in the roster or not. Teams that succeed think ahead of time to all the teams they face and make certain plans. For example, a team might decide to acquire an extra DB rather than a DL because they may be facing more teams with a spread offenses.
For example, if they decide to trade Chad Johnson, then they would know for sure, sure he’d win the battle but at least they’d have a set plan and could focus on a wide-out with the traded pick and perhaps add some depth to a defense that has needs all around. Otherwise they go into the season with T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Glenn Holt (undrafted 3rd year player), Antonio Chatman & Doug Gabriel.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I think once he figures out he isn’t going any where, he’ll end this circus. He won’t retire and he won’t go bankrupt so He’ll show and produce. I still stay good for cincinnati for putting their foot down on this. It will help show these players that they don’t always get what they wont and maybe next time think about saying that contract a little more..
WHO-DEY!
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Dear Daniel Snyder,
You just received additional leverage in your attempt to trade for this psycho. Please use it wisely.
St. Joe
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:47 am
this whole thing is abysmally dumb. just trade the idiot already. this can’t be good for the bengals in any way.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 9:02 am
chad is a cancer and no one except the redskin turd collectors would take him. why would the skins want that on thier team? i guess coach snyder has not learned his lesson yet about how to build a team. the bengals did the right thing but that team is so out of hand with arrests and suspensions, just another chapter in that book. until they overhall the mentality there it willbe another 8-8, 7-9 season with a couple more arrests.
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April 24th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Why would the Bengals trade him for the lame Washington offer? Take last years draft into consideration. Where Washington picks, and who they offered, turned out to be Reggie Nelson and Jonathan Wade.
Do people here really think the Bengals should settle for that for a future hall of fame WR in his prime coming off 5 consecutive pro bowl appearances, all because he has decided for some unknown reason he wants to play somewhere else?
Heck no. Until Snyder ups the offer to a 1st, a 2nd, AND Santana Moss, the Bengals will not even listen. And that is the right thing to do. It’s bad enough the Bengals take a 4M salary cap hit per year for 2 years once he’s traded.
People need to realize the logistics of this before they post dumb things. Chad is not getting traded unless the offer benefits the Bengals. Period.
Chad needs to call Darnay Scott and Carl Pickens and ask them how this all worked out for them when they went up against Mike Brown.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 9:17 am
It’s really pretty simple. You do not trade him, you just play hardball. You approach the draft and the upcoming season as if he blew out his knee and is gone for the year. If he ends up showing up and playing, great, if not, you have planned for it. Having said that, I guarantee you that he will show up the week before the season starts. So many veterans do this for various reasons. Chad is pouting so he will try to prove his point. He scares the Bengals, gets to miss the hot summer camp workouts, comes in fresh and most importantly…gets a paycheck!! He won’t leave all that money on the table, what the hell is he going to do, work at Wal Mart? He needs the cash! If he doesn’t get paid this year that money will be lost forever.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
The biggest risk Chad runs is not playing and having Carson Palmer turn somebody else into the “next Chad Johnson”.
From my observations it seems a lot of Carson’s issues have been directly correlated to his offensive line woes. Last year both starting tackles spent significant time out of the lineup with injuries and the middle of the line is still trying to find out if Eric Ghiaciuc can play and replacing Eric Steinbach.
Give this guy time in the pocket and I think we’ll see him make wide receivers a helluva lot of money. Favre did this every 3 years his whole career.
Let him sit…..the worst thing that can happen? They go from chanting “Who dey?” to “Who dat?”
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Rating: Not yet rated
April 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am
It’s good the Bengals are standing up to this idiot. He can’t even run the routes correctly. Josereyeso, the bengals are going forward as if Chad will not be there…so they are planning ahead. If the bengals do not stand up to this jerk…then in a few more years we will have another situation with another Rosenhaus client. This will send a clear message that the inmates do not run the asylum. That is exactly Chad would be if he was not playing football….at least he still will be able to wear orange.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am
When does Chad Johnson start making comments about Marvin Lewis? The fact that in 5 seasons under Lewis they only had ONE winning season. That Lewis is supposed to be a defensive genius yet what limited success the Bengals have had is because of their offense since their defense year-after-year ranks among the worst in the NFL even though in the past 4 years they devoted the majority of their first day picks on defense.
Or how about the organization for drafting players with questionable characters who can’t contribute because they are suspended by the league.
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April 24th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Let him rot on the bench if he wants to. Stick to your guns, Cincy. This guy makes me sick. I (Eagles fan) want nothing to do with him. He’s a cancer. Let him sit a year and get another year older, lose some money….and maybe next year there will be another WR or two out there that aren’t distractions and teams will covet them more than some loud mouth idiot who is the farthest thing from a team player.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:03 am
The Bengals are not winning here.
What the Chargers did to the Giants when Eli refused to go to SD is winning. We may cheer because Chad is such a look at me guy, but you don’t hurt yourself to prove a point. Move him and move on. This is the spiritual successor to the loyalty clause. You can make someone do most anything but Mike Brown still hasn’t figured out how much better it works when you can get someone to want to do something.
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Rating: 3.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:04 am
When Bengals fans are referring to the Bruce Coslet era as “the good old days,” you know there’s a problem. Cincy needs to get while the getting’s good, cuz there is no happy ending down the road they’re on.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I’ve got a new respect for the Bengals organization. Play hard ball. How are you gonna let this punk dictate the way you run a franchise. I would love to see him crawling back. This is gonna be so sweet
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:12 am
The only trade that the Redskins can offer that the Bengals will take is Santana Moss + 17th overall this year for Chad Johnson.
We’re eating Chad’s $8M cap hit, the redskins can eat Moss’s $7M cap hit.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:14 am
As usual people don’t see the big picture. Trading a guy who’s about to pay you back money you paid him for two POTENTIAL players doesn’t make sense. It is more important to start a precedent with these jerks NOW. You guys who don’t follow the Bengals don’t really know what you’re talking about. Chad is NOT an impact player. He doesn’t catch game winning balls, he drops more key third down passes then he catches. He’s not even the best WR on the team. You are overhyping a guy that is involved in 6-12 plays a game, and not all of them positive. Not to mention its not like the Bengals have a great draft history anyway.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Dude, it’s the Bengals. No matter their record, they’ll never be winners.
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Rating: 2.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:30 am
The Bengals are in a catch-22 of sorts. On one hand, if they trade Johnson, they send a message that if their players don’t want to be in Cincinnati, all they have to do is bitch, complain, whine, cry, hold their breath and stomp their feet long enough and they’ll get out of there.
On the other hand, if they dig in against the player, they risk the PR backlash from those who want the player gone, a poisoned locker room and off-field distractions which are anything but positive.
Either way, the longer the Bengals continue on the course they’re on now, it won’t end pretty for them.
IMO, if the Bengals came out and said that they’re not going to trade Chad Johnson because they consider him an integral part of the team and if they did trade them they don’t think that they would do as well this season, they’d do more to diffuse the situation than to trot Marvin Lewis out there to call his bluff and practically dare him to throw more tantrums. (maybe they’ve already done this, I’m not a Bengals fan)
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Rating: 4.8 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I would trade his sorry whiny a$$ for draft picks faster than OCHO SUCKO can drop a game winning touchdown pass.
I wonder how much of his whining is related to the fact that T.J. was the better receiver last year.
Put Kenny Anderson In The Hall Of Fame!!
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Rating: 2.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Free Ocho Stinko. The Bungles can posture and fine him all they want, but they are going to lose with or with out him, so why not get something instead of nothing and bad PR, and will from the guys around the NFL who all like and support Ocho.
Just continue to hold out Chad, they can fine you all they want, but if you show up gameday, they will have to cut you a check even though you will likely not make the active roster they will be forced to keep you in the top 53.
They can fine you 14 grand a day for 100 days and it still wont be much of a percentage of your new signing bonus from Snyder.
Better yet just show up and “tweak a hamstring”
Who Dey? Bungles beat the Bengals before they ever put on pads.
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Rating: 2.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Eagles20 - Your Super Bowless team caved in and signed the King of Turds! You had ur popcorn ready then!!! Why not now?! You tried winning a Super Bowl with a turd at receiver…now you’ll try it without one? Where’s the tiptoeing Stinkston when you need em’? Hail boy.
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April 24th, 2008 at 11:05 am
you can’t ‘tweak a hamstring’ unless the Bengals medical staff doesn’t clear you to play.
How likely do you think it is the Bengals Medical staff doesn’t clear Chad, effectively causing him to get fined more?
It’s not difficult when you hold all of the cards.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Stoogie has it right… Cinci is a small-market, smaller-budget team that not everyone wants to play for, and if the Bengals open the door for anybody who gets a big head, doesn’t like the coaches, etc., they’ll never be able to field a competitive team again.
Yes, he’ll leave a huge hole if he’s not there. But last year Chad looked average. Bad routes, a LOT of dropped passes, and constant miscommunication with Palmer. No team should accommodate an average player with a big head. Barring a trade, 2nd round pick or early 3rd should be a WR. Early Doucet, maybe Caldwell from FL. We need the depth, and it sends a message.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am
there is another option… he could show up prior to week 10 so that he gets credit for the season. if the bengals happen to be doing well at that point, which is a reach, it may make the team wish they had traded him rather than have him screw up the chemsitry that the team may develop without him, a la the Giants and Jeremy Shockey.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 1 rating(s)