INDIANAPOLIS -- Hard as it is to believe, the on-again, off-again relationship between Chad Johnson and the Cincinnati Bengals seems to be on again -- with coach Marvin Lewis saying he expects the controversial wide receiver to return to the Bengals this season.
"It's been (a belief) through myself and our ownership that he's one of our assets," Lewis said at this week's scouting combine. "He's a good player, and it's our job to put him in position to make plays, and it's his job to know what it is to be a receiver -- and that means to block, to catch, to run the correct routes and to be in the right spots for the quarterback. We have to get back to doing that."
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| Chad Johnson's antics make him dangerous to the Bengals but also nearly impossible to unload. (US Presswire) |
"Chad has a contract that's longer than mine, I think," he said, joking.
Johnson's contract is not the point. His happiness, his productivity and his potential to disrupt a locker room are. All were factors in a disastrous season last year as the Bengals plummeted to their worst finish (4-11-1) in Lewis' six years there. Johnson, bothered by a separated shoulder the entire season, was never a factor -- before or after quarterback Carson Palmer was hurt.
Palmer, who missed 12 games with an elbow injury, is expected to be ready for the team's mandatory June minicamp. That should be a bonus for Johnson -- and not just because of Palmer's stature on the field. There's a belief within the organization that, as a team, Lewis and Palmer might be able to accomplish the improbable -- and that's keep Johnson in line.
Outside the organization, of course, there's the belief that Johnson is an accident waiting to happen. In fact, when I contacted several GMs last summer, more than one said he wouldn't take Johnson if the Bengals gave him away. The reason: Too much baggage. That doesn't seem to intimidate the Bengals, and one reason might be Houshmandzadeh's imminent departure.
That leaves Johnson as the principal -- maybe only -- weapon at Palmer's disposal. Of course, that's if he plays as he did in 2007 when he caught 93 passes for a franchise-record 1,440 yards and eight touchdowns. One year later, it was a different story, with Johnson languishing through his worst season since his rookie year with 53 catches for 540 yards and four scores.
"I know he's anxious to get back to football and put some of the things that happened last offseason in the past," said Lewis, "and go back to preparing the way he prepared in previous seasons as far as how diligent he was with his body through running and continuing to rehab and work on his shoulder strength and ankle strength -- all the things he didn't do last season.
"I think what Chad learned last year was that if you don't prepare physically for the season it's a long year. You don't just show up and play NFL football. It's a long year. You're talking about a guy who's one of the hardest working guys I've ever seen who spent the offseason not necessarily approaching and being involved in it like he was in the past. Unfortunately, he got hurt right away and wasn't in the right shape. And then when he got back to running at the right tempo and speed our quarterback got injured. So it all went down the tube."
The Bengals' hope that life with Chad can return to normal astounded one coach within the division, who pointed out that without Palmer one wide receiver's numbers didn't change all that much (Houshmandzadeh), while the other's (Johnson) went into the jar.
"So what does that tell you?" he said.
That Cincinnati might be taking an enormous gamble. I don't know who makes this call -- Lewis, owner Mike Brown or both -- but it's dangerous, especially after Johnson self-immolated last season. I know we haven't heard from him yet this offseason, and that's good. But he didn't make an impact on the field last season, and that's disturbing -- especially considering the emotional volcano he can be.
"Do you think he wants to be here?" I asked Lewis.
"I think, ultimately, in Chad's mind, he wants to be on any team he thinks he can make more money with," said Lewis, laughing.
But wouldn't that be somewhere other than Cincinnati?
"It could be," said Lewis, "but I don't know right now if his value is to other teams."
Neither do I. Bottom line: Expect Chad Johnson back with the Bengals.
laurensmama 
