[-STAT-]

What is this guys deal? He missed the Bengals off-season workout. Will he remain with the Bengals or will he go elsewhere? Fritz what are your thoughts or do you know anything?

[Tomcat68]

He's very upset with the team and organization as of the moment. Nonetheless, if they don't/won't trade him, he'll still produce on the field. He's that type of guy. This was a voluntary workout he missed as well. It's the same workout that tons of NFL veterans miss every season to get extra rest. Chad said the other day that he never even begins working out for the next season again until right after the draft.

[Crossbones]

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/si_nfl/~3/2572...index.html

[vundy33]

If I were him I would be upset with the team too...

[RedSeal]

yea I would be upset also! he's too good of reciever to be playing on a crappy team! i would like to see him in a packers uniform! or somewhere like that

[bluegrassballa]

If he's unhappy, why keep him?

[launchpad4]

I would be upset to if I were on a team that refused to improve themselves. He has the right to want to not play for a team. Remember this is his job, his career, he can want to or work for whoever he wants. I not that not everybody is still at their first job. Things change at our work and we get unhappy and quit why should he be so different. He is human. Maybe a championship is more important than fan favorite for a bottom feeder.

[fballfan07]

I know Carolina just signed D.J. Hackett and Mushin Mohammad, but I think the Bengals should work something out to deal him to the Panthers whether that be a 2nd and a 3rd (Carolina has two from trade with Jets) and maybe someone like Hackett in return...

With Steve Smith, Johnson will have great numbers...

[RedSeal]

I heard today on ESPN that chad johnson wanted to play Arena ball, and you know he would be really fun to watch in Arena ball and he would definately be the highest paid player in arena ball

[More Cowbell]

I would be upset to if I were on a team that refused to improve themselves. He has the right to want to not play for a team. Remember this is his job, his career, he can want to or work for whoever he wants. I not that not everybody is still at their first job. Things change at our work and we get unhappy and quit why should he be so different. He is human. Maybe a championship is more important than fan favorite for a bottom feeder.

I disagree. In my opinion he signed a contract to play for the Bengals for the next few years, and he should honor that contract. If he didn't want to play in Cincinnati, he shouldn't have signed that contract extension.

This is not the same as people like us wanting to change jobs because we're unhappy. The difference is that most regular people who work don't have a signed contract binding them to work for the same boss for a set time. We can leave the job or we can be fired, both with appropriate notice. Professional athletes instead sign multiyear contracts in order to give teams the stability they desire, and in return the athletes get a big fat paycheck. Not a bad deal.

It's funny, you hear all the time about athletes complaining that they are underpaid and wanting to break or renegotiate their contract. Would any of these guys ever offer to give back some of their pay if they have an off-year? No, because they signed the contract and expect the team to honor its end of the deal.

In all honesty, it might be better for the team to trade him anyway, because he may end up being a disruption to the rest of the team all season, and they don't need that. But part of me wishes that they refuse to let him go, if only because of the principle of the matter.

[Tomcat68]

I disagree. In my opinion he signed a contract to play for the Bengals for the next few years, and he should honor that contract. If he didn't want to play in Cincinnati, he shouldn't have signed that contract extension.

This is not the same as people like us wanting to change jobs because we're unhappy. The difference is that most regular people who work don't have a signed contract binding them to work for the same boss for a set time. We can leave the job or we can be fired, both with appropriate notice. Professional athletes instead sign multiyear contracts in order to give teams the stability they desire, and in return the athletes get a big fat paycheck. Not a bad deal.

It's funny, you hear all the time about athletes complaining that they are underpaid and wanting to break or renegotiate their contract. Would any of these guys ever offer to give back some of their pay if they have an off-year? No, because they signed the contract and expect the team to honor its end of the deal.

In all honesty, it might be better for the team to trade him anyway, because he may end up being a disruption to the rest of the team all season, and they don't need that. But part of me wishes that they refuse to let him go, if only because of the principle of the matter.

The problem with most of this statement is that NFL contracts are very unique in the fact that they are very seldom taken to their completion. Also, a team can cut/release a player at any time, even if they're under contract, and they don't have to pay a penny of the remaining seasons on the contract. The only money that matters in a contract is the signing bonus. Everything from there on out is agreed to be on a "year to year basis" for renewal on which both sides must agree to pay/receive the specified amount for that particular year designated within the contract. If the team wants to get rid of the player, then it's just fine. No strings attached. If the player wants to go to a different team and/or renegotiate his contract, he must hold out and hope that the team will eventually cave to get them on the field, receive the franchise tag (and still possibly holdout), get traded, or crawl back with their tail tucked between legs and play for the money in the contract.

Contracts are extremely slanted in favor of teams in the NFL as opposed to players. They hold all the power over a player. While I think it is silly in most cases for a professional athlete to clamor for more money while they're making millions, Chad's situation isn't about money. He wants to see his team go out and make an effort to get better and improve their chances of winning. That's the purpose of the game to a player.

[More Cowbell]

The problem with most of this statement is that NFL contracts are very unique in the fact that they are very seldom taken to their completion. Also, a team can cut/release a player at any time, even if they're under contract, and they don't have to pay a penny of the remaining seasons on the contract. The only money that matters in a contract is the signing bonus. Everything from there on out is agreed to be on a "year to year basis" for renewal on which both sides must agree to pay/receive the specified amount for that particular year designated within the contract. If the team wants to get rid of the player, then it's just fine. No strings attached. If the player wants to go to a different team and/or renegotiate his contract, he must hold out and hope that the team will eventually cave to get them on the field, receive the franchise tag (and still possibly holdout), get traded, or crawl back with their tail tucked between legs and play for the money in the contract.

Contracts are extremely slanted in favor of teams in the NFL as opposed to players. They hold all the power over a player. While I think it is silly in most cases for a professional athlete to clamor for more money while they're making millions, Chad's situation isn't about money. He wants to see his team go out and make an effort to get better and improve their chances of winning. That's the purpose of the game to a player.

You're right, NFL teams do have the ability to cut players more easily than in other sports, but those were the rules agreed upon by the Players Association at the last collective bargaining agreement. Chad knew those rules when he signed the contract, nobody forced him at gunpoint to sign. Also, like you said, the tradeoff for the teams' ability to cut players is the big signing bonuses, of which Chad received a very nice check I'm sure. So I have trouble drumming up any sympathy for him.

Now I know that Chad had been going on TV lately and saying that he wants to play for a winner, and that sounds nice and all, but it ignores the fact that HE was part of the problem last year. I know Chad is one of the 3 most talented WR's in the league, and he put up stellar numbers again last year, but there's more to it than that. I watched all the Bengals' games last year, and something wasn't quite right with him. He didn't seem to give 100% effort all the time, and he seemed to sulk a lot when the ball wasn't coming his way. And while I love Chad as a player and I wish he would get his head straightened out, his selfish attitude is one of the reasons why the team was disappointing last year. It's not all just because the defense sucked.

In summary, I really do like Chad, and as a Bengals fan I hope he and Marvin Lewis can bury the hatchet and work toward the goal of making the playoffs next year. But to portray Chad Johnson as some sort of sympathetic figure being mistreated by the mean old Bengals is not accurate.

[Tomcat68]

I don't think he's being mistreated in any way, either. I also don't feel sympathy/empathy for him because this is the NFL and everyone wants to be a winner, but it can't happen to every team every year. Yes, he was aware of the contract he signed and how it would work, but he doesn't have a problem with it. He is just using it as leverage to get his point across. He just wants a better team product in Cincinnati, and he's making it known publicly now which is putting more pressure on the administration to actually take a step in that direction. Also, keep in mind that these are still only voluntary workouts. There are tons of veterans who sit these out to heal their bodies. There are others who sit out while negotiating a new contract.

[BFritz]

A week or two before the season ended, Chad said that he wanted out if changes weren't made.

Changes were made to improve the team and will continue to be made with the draft.

However. the media gossips like a bunch of fifth grade girls and will get any story they can. They grab hold of the story and run with it and blow it out of proportion, and Chad's too proud to sit back and say that he's fine with the changes, and he's still a bit upset because more could have been made.

Throw in Drew Rosenworthless whispering in Chad's ear that he deserves more money on a better team and you have a full blown catastrophe.

Chad will be back as a Bengal, will produce, and will be happy.

Who-Dey in '08 and '09.

[More Cowbell]

Fritz, I was wondering when you were going to weigh in with your take on this subject. Good to hear from you again. Who-Dey!

And Tomcat, you're absolutely right about the workouts being voluntary, and that's certainly within Chad's rights to skip them. I have no problem with that. My problem is that he signed a contract with the team, and when they go out and have a disappointing season (of which he can share at least a small part of the blame), then he up and says he wants to be traded. To me, that's a smack in the face to his teammates.

Anyway, I think the team has made some improvements this offseason, and hopefully a strong draft will help the defense to improve some more. I just hope Chad and Marvin can find a way to coexist, because this team is way too talented to be missing the playoffs like they did last year.

[Crossbones]

Johnson has plainly stated he wants to be on a winning team. That must mean he wants to be a STEELER.

Couldn't resist.

[Jimmy Dugan]

Like to see him in a Titans uniform. Vince Young needs someone other than Roydell Williams as his # 1 receiver.

[RavenBoy]

He did say he would concider playing Arena Football.

[vundy33]

I disagree. In my opinion he signed a contract to play for the Bengals for the next few years, and he should honor that contract. If he didn't want to play in Cincinnati, he shouldn't have signed that contract extension.

This is not the same as people like us wanting to change jobs because we're unhappy. The difference is that most regular people who work don't have a signed contract binding them to work for the same boss for a set time. We can leave the job or we can be fired, both with appropriate notice. Professional athletes instead sign multiyear contracts in order to give teams the stability they desire, and in return the athletes get a big fat paycheck. Not a bad deal.

It's funny, you hear all the time about athletes complaining that they are underpaid and wanting to break or renegotiate their contract. Would any of these guys ever offer to give back some of their pay if they have an off-year? No, because they signed the contract and expect the team to honor its end of the deal.

In all honesty, it might be better for the team to trade him anyway, because he may end up being a disruption to the rest of the team all season, and they don't need that. But part of me wishes that they refuse to let him go, if only because of the principle of the matter.

At the time he signed the extension he didn't know that the team would continue to try to screw themselves over and over.

[bluegrassballa]

Johnson has plainly stated he wants to be on a winning team. That must mean he wants to be a STEELER.

Couldn't resist.

:thatsfunn :thatsfunn