Divas still in demand
Baltimore Sun
Will Chad Johnson get another shot in the NFL? I hope not. The tired acts of Terrell Owens, Plaxico Burress and Johnson need to be shelved for good. After allegedly assaulting his wife, Johnson should worry more about staying out of jail than trying to get back onto the football field.
Are NFL teams really hurting that badly for wide receivers that these divas keep getting chances? Maybe. Randy Moss got his third — or is it fourth? — chance when the 49ers, a playoff team, signed him in the offseason. But with the Seahawks signing T.O., it has to bode well for Johnson. Teams are still looking.
Someone will find him, problems and all.
3 strikes, he's out
Dan Pompei
Chicago Tribune
There may be room in the NFL for Terrell Owens. There may be a spot for Randy Moss. But Chad Johnson? Doubtful.
Johnson, unlike Owens and Moss, has three strikes against him. The first is he 34 years old and clearly is not the player he used to be. His last really productive season was in 2009. The second strike is he is a distraction to his team and difficult to manage. It's one thing to deal with a difference-maker who is a distraction. It's another thing to deal with a run-of-the-mill player who is a distraction.
The third strike on Johnson is he has run afoul of the law and could be subject to discipline by the NFL, including a suspension. The risk with Johnson no longer is worth the reward.
Good chance he's done
Sam Farmer
Los Angeles Times
Chad Johnson has taken on a nuclear glow. The only way he gets another chance in the NFL is if a team is absolutely desperate because of injuries at receiver. While I wouldn't rule out that possibility — after all, Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are on rosters — there are complicating factors with Johnson.
No one is going to touch him until his latest legal troubles are sorted out, and that includes any potential action by the league. People can deal with him playing the clown, but these allegations concern a criminal matter. What's more, he's 34, and couldn't stick around in New England. If Bill Belichick doesn't see the value in you as a football player, there's a good chance you're done.
A team in need will call
Omar Kelly
Sun Sentinel
The NFL is a production-based business. If you're talented enough to help a coach win enough games to get his next big contract, or save his job, you can find work too.
Chad Johnson might be experiencing a rough patch following the first arrest of his NFL career, but his brief tenure with the Dolphins proved he still has elite quickness, and even at 34 can be a productive NFL receiver in the right offense. At some point in 2012 injuries will decimate some NFL team and they'll give the man formerly known as Ochocinco a tryout, and eventually a contract. And he'll provide that team enough offense to silence his critics until the next news cycle needs someone to kick around.