All-Pro Wide Receiver and World Class Primadonna Chad Johnson is skipping offseason workouts for the Bengals this week. Why do you think that is?
Injury? No.
Contract Dispute? No.
It's because he thinks people are being mean to him.
Chad Johnson skipped the start of the Bengals' offseason workouts Monday, the latest move to show he's unhappy with how he's perceived in Cincinnati.
Johnson said in interviews last week that he is skipping the voluntary workouts to reinforce his message that he'd like to play somewhere else. The Bengals have said repeatedly that they have no intention of trading him.
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Johnson became indignant last season after a local newspaper columnist suggested his look-at-me antics were hurting the team. Fans also criticized his approach as the season careened to a 7-9 finish.
He stopped talking to the local media last season, but went on national interview shows before the Super Bowl and again last week reiterating that he feels unappreciated.
There's no place in the league where they'll love #88 more than they do in Cincinnati. He's the face of that franchise, somebody who is overshadowing not only another fantastic receiver in TJ Houshmandzadeh, but overshadowing one of the better quarterbacks in the league in Carson Palmer. Johnson would be a fool to leave the Bengals, and the Bengals would be fools to trade him.
That said, it turns out that Houshmandzadeh is also skipping workouts, though he did that last year as well. In case you haven't figured it out, Marvin Lewis has no freaking control over this team.
That leaves the troubled Chris Henry as the best receiver at the workouts, and after missing time from suspensions he can use the extra practice. He would be a great fantasy wide receiver option if Johnson was sent packing.