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Trade Chad, are you crazy?

4. January 2008  - Published by Jimmy Dinsmore
Comments (5)
NFL Network is saying that Chad Johnson might seek a trade or a contract renegotiation. Well, I say pony up guys, we need Chad Johnson. And we'd get almost nothing for him in a trade. Look what Oakland got for Randy Moss. That trade didn't work out to well for the Raiders now did it and did pretty good for the Pats. Chad signed a bargain deal last year. We were all proud of him taking less than market value. Maybe he will the honor contract. I doubt Mike Brown will willingly tear up a bargain contract and give him more. But I'd rather them keep Chad than trade him. He is ridiculously talented and makes the offense so much better. He had 1,400 receiving yards this year and it was a down year for him. He made TJ Houshmanzadeh so much better by his presence. TJ is not a #1 WR. Together Chad and TJ are lethal, but without each other, well, we're back to mediocrity. Now you have Carson Palmer, one of the elite QBs in the league who isn't getting any younger. So why would you take away more of his offensive weapons by getting less than market value for Chad? Don't believe for a second that the Bengals woes this year were to be blamed on Chad or his immaturity. Are those claims accurate, sure? But no one works harder on film studies or practice than Chad. He's the first one in, last one out. Others could learn by example from Chad. Does it appear that Marvin treats Chad differently? Perhaps. If that's true it's because Chad is what he wishes other of his players were, hard working and attentive. The other issues of Chad's antics and immaturity and perceived favoritism by Marvin is on Marvin's shoulders, not Chad's. If Marvin wanted to set Chad in his place, he could. Do I think Chad is the perfect Bengal? No, but I know, beyond a shadow of doubt that the Bengals are better WITH Chad Johnson than without him.

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Comments

Chris_Murdico
Chris_Murdico
1/4/2008 6:10:37 PM #
Chad won't get traded. He won't sit out and try to negotiate a contract either. While we can never truly believe what any player says when it comes to their contracts or money, Chad has said, and actually posted on his MySpace site that he isn't going anywhere. He's not going to demand a trade. He wants to retire a Bengal. These are his words (paraphrased), not mine.

The Bengals would be stupid to let him go. They would get more for him than the Raiders got for Moss though I think. Moss wasn't producing in his last two seasons in Oakland. That along with his attitude drove his trade value down. While Chad may run his mouth at times, he is still producing, and like you said Jimmy, even in a down season, he's still better than almost every other receiver in the game.

The one comment that I have issue with is that I think TJ is a #1 receiver. He's WR 1b to Chad's 1a right now. If Chad were to leave or get traded of course TJ's numbers would slip. But the same would be true for Chad if TJ were to leave. TJ is better than the #1 receiver on a lot of teams in the NFL. He'll go down as one of the best WRs ever to play in the orange and black at the end of his career. He's more consistent than Chad and is a TD machine.

The only piece of the Bengals offense that I could see getting traded is Rudi Johnson. The emergence of Kenny Watson proved that Rudi is actually expendable. Plus the team will get Kenny Irons back next year and, if completely healthy, he'll take over as the premier back in the lineup.
Jimmy Dinsmore
Jimmy Dinsmore
1/4/2008 11:02:02 PM #
Chris, well said I agree. I don't think TJ is a true #1 WR, but he's the best damn WR#2 of any team. But he and Chad are best friends and need each other. TJ has one year left on his deal, Mikey boy needs to sign TJ long term. Then focus on the defense. I agree 100% about either releasing Rudi or trying to get some kind of value for him. Perhaps use him as trade to move up a spot on draft day (not in the first round, but a later round). Rudi has been a solid Bengal. No hard feelings like when Dillon left, but it's just business. And unfortunately, business needs more than 1.9 yards per carry.
Brian Polking
Brian Polking
1/4/2008 11:24:01 PM #
I would take anything for Rudi at this point or just flat out release him, and Justin Smith would be the next guy out the door. Jimmy said it best. It's just business. Both guys have failed to produce at the level they are being paid. Use the money to lock up TJ and make improvements to the defense.
Adam Bartel
Adam Bartel
1/5/2008 1:42:43 PM #
If they were to trade CJ, they'd get at least a low first-rounder, second at worst - remember the amount of baggage Moss had before he was dealt, Chad's isn't nearly as large.

I just can't shake the feeling that Chad's having some sort of Carl Pickens-like effect on this team.  His outlandish behavior is pretty much undermining Marvin's credibility, and given the lack of discipline and attention to detail shown by this team, it's not a stretch to connect the two.  If things go sour next year (and I fully expect a worse 2008), we're going to have to wondering the same thing that we did with Pickens/Dillon et al: if we're going to lose with them, can't we lose without them?
Jimmy Dinsmore
Jimmy Dinsmore
1/6/2008 11:06:30 AM #
We were 7-9 with him, and have gone 8-8 (twice) and won the AFC North with him. He's a huge part to those seasons. It's my opinion that the media has largely sunk their teeth into Chad and tried to skapegoat him this year. I don't believe for a second that he's Pickens-like. I could be wrong. It would help if Marvin were anything but a condescending, aloof jerk with the media. If he is a problem, I might come around more and say deal him. But I don't think he's the problem at all. But I do think Marvin could/should deal with him, the same as he deals with everyone else. No special treatment. The problem (if there is one), seems to be with Marvin's dealing with Chad, not with Chad himself.
And I disagree that a team would give up a #1 draft pick (or even a #2) for Chad. I don't see it. Especially if he's unhappy with the current contract, he'd be unhappy with it elsewhere too. That creates cap issues. NFL isn't MLB. They don't just make trades, etc. Value trading rarely occurs, especially with draft picks.
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