The Chad Ochocinco experience is moving north to the New England Patriots.
Media personality/Twitter juggernaut/bull rider/ MLS soccer player/ football player will be heading to New England to join the Patriots, joining Albert Haynesworth as the second troubled star to join the team on Thursday.
WKRC Channel 12 in Cincinnati was the first to report the story:
Local 12 Sports Director Brad Johansen says all indications from multiple sources he's spoken to is that the Bengals have agreed to a trade with Patriots for a draft choice...but one that that has not been disclosed. Brad was told that Ochocinco was not released...but rather dealt.
ESPN's John Clayton has since confirmed the report.
The Bengals held the option on Chad's final contract year that will pay him $6.35M and the deal is contingent on the fact Ochocinco has decided to restructure his contract.
The compensation for the Bengals has yet to be officially announced but ESPN football insider Adam Schfter tweets the likely outcome:
Cincinnati will receive two late draft picks from New England in return for WR Chad Ochocinco -- a pick in 2012, a pick in 2013.
Hard to believe that the face of the Bengals franchise is only worth two late-round picks. Yet here we are and now the Patriots have a 33-year old receiver that still has plenty of tread left on the tires. He is famous for never having a sip of alcohol and has never failed a drug test. He takes good care of his body and is rarely hurt.
He may have lost a step in his career, but he still has the sort of explosion and exceptional route running skills to be a No. 2 receiver. Now that he has the no-nonsense Belichick yelling in his ear, his discipline will only increase. Marvin Lewis became too buddy-buddy with Chad over the years and after awhile it seemed like he had his own set of rules in the locker room.
Ochocinco and Belichick already had a budding relationship from meeting at the Pro Bowl a few years back and the mutual respect for each other is certainly there. Check out what Belichick told reporters last season:
I like Chad. I like him as a player. I like him as a person. I like his enthusiasm and the fun he has with football, and I like how he competes on the football field. I have a lot of respect for that. [We?re] an odd couple, but in the end I think we have a lot of things in common
That's about as high a praise you can get from "the hoodie". Chad has gone as far as to say he considers the Patriots head coach a friend.
The respect factor is there and that's a huge factor for Ochocinco. Not to say we didn't respect Lewis, but the pair certainly had their share of rifts.
Now Ochocinco has a clean slate and can concentrate on the task that has eluded him his entire career: Win a Super Bowl.
Luis Scola Jonathan Albaladejo Andrew Brackman A.J. Burnett Steve Garrison Phil Hughes
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