In an interview with Peter King of Sports Illustrated, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis reiterated that he has no interest in trading, re-negotiating with or doing anything else that might placate wide receiver Chad Johnson, meaning a showdown is likely coming between the coach and his most vocal player.

“We’ve made it clear what the stance is,” Lewis told King. “It’s not going to change, today or in August, whenever. You cannot allow a player to get up on his high chair with four years left on his contract and demand to get out. If you do that, you set a terrible example for the rest of your team, and we won’t do that.”

Cincinnati picked three wide receivers in this year’s draft: Jerome Simpson of Coastal Carolina in the second round, Andre Caldwell of Florida in the third and Mario Urrutia of Louisville in the seventh. Lewis suggested that the Bengals made those picks not only because of Johnson’s unhappiness and the release of Chris Henry, but also because they are preparing for life without their other starting receiver, T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

“T.J.’s at the end of his contract this year,” Lewis said, per King, “and I don’t know if it’s possible to re-sign him. Chad says he won’t play without a trade. We just have to be prepared for anything this year, and for the future.”

A year or two ago it looked like Johnson and Houshmandzadeh would play their prime years with Carson Palmer as their quarterback. But it’s now looking more like Palmer will be breaking in a whole new set of receivers sooner rather than later.