Feeling around NFL is that Ochocinco will play again; but where?

Potential suitors think Ocho was lost in the Patriots' complicated offensive system. (US Presswire)

The general consensus from scouts and general managers around football to me is this: Chad Ochocinco is no Terrell Owens. And that's a good thing.

The belief is this: Owens won't get an NFL job, not just because he behaves like a petulant child and has burned so many bridges his name should be Napalm Owens. Also because the feeling is Owens doesn't have the ability to make him worth the risk.

Ochocinco, some personnel people believe, is different. I can tell you that within the past few hours some teams have again whipped out the Patriots film on Ochocinco. What they are seeing, they think, is a guy who still has physical ability but was lost in the Patriots' sometimes complicated system. They believe he can still be an effective, though not great, player at the position.

I disagree. I tend to think Ochocinco is done. The few times he was in the New England lineup, he looked extremely sluggish. He didn't just look like he lost a step. He ran routes like he fell down a few. At times, it was shocking to see Ochocinco as a possession receiver. But that's what he is now.

The name that keeps coming up as a suitor is Jacksonville. That's the odds-on favorite, at least according to people around the league. I don't see that either.

The other is St. Louis. That's where I think he ends up. I also wouldn't rule out San Francisco.

One GM told me this is the order the Ochocinco "sweepstakes" should be in: Carolina, Dallas and Buffalo. That's it, the Gm said, those three. In that order. No others.

In actuality, who knows. He'll end up in a camp somewhere because he's almost no risk and a team might get lucky.

But I think it's over for Chad Ochocinco.